When in America
by xNeve
Summary: America is hell on Earth in the eyes of the Arthur Kirkland. Starting at a new school is never, easy but when he finds himself falling for casanova who is currently taken, things suddenly get tricky. USUK and more AU
1. So this is America

NekoiiXx and I changed our names :) So thank you 'Nerro' for betaing! She's super busy so it's really nice of her :D

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Arthur Kirkland opened the door to his first class at his new school, Hetalia High. He'd taken Society and Culture as a subject at his school in London; however his heart sunk when he glanced around the class room, only to see a bunch of hyperactive students and lacking teacher. He finally spotted the only available seat which was next to a good looking boy with a tanned complexion, and walked towards him while ignoring the stares he was attracting. "Hello," Arthur said with a thick accent and flashing a quick smile to the intrigued boy. "Is that seat taken?"

"Not at all," he smiled back at the Brit sliding his bag off the table where it landed unceremoniously on the floor with a thump. "I haven't seen you around, are you new here?"

"Yes, I just transferred today." Arthur said relaxing slightly into his seat where he could no longer feel eyes burning into him.

"I'm Toni," Antonio (Toni) held out his hand.

"Arthur," he gave the other teen a firm hand shake, "it's nice to meet you."

"I like your accent, when did you move here?" Antonio asked resting his head in the palm of his hand and showing an almost dreamy look to the British boy. Arthur was slightly embarrassed by his gaze while being unaware that Toni was a lazy individual and meant no harm with his innocent look.

"Just four days ago." Arthur said turning away from him and pulling out his books which he assembled neatly in front of him.

"Do you like America?"

"It's a little odd, quite different to London which is daunting but I think I'll grow to like it," he shrugged. "I'm living with my two brothers; the older one got a job offer over here so we moved." He told him conversationally.

Antonio sat up straight again and offered a kind smile, "well, if you need help getting settled just ask." At this, Arthur returned the smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Alright class, quiet down, I know I'm late," the teacher muttered. The class burst into chuckles as his lateness was nothing new to them, except Arthur who was left out of the joke. Mr King was a tall man in his early forties with dark hair and fair skin. He wore square shaped glasses that sat high on the rim of his nose, along with a white collared shirt and jeans.

Arthur had been pleasantly surprised by the fashionable clothes he had obtained in the airport and seen being worn as he walked through the school hallway. While the girls all appeared to be wearing atrociously short skirts or shorts - despite the freezing weather - he had also spotted students wearing designer brands of which he himself was fond of and found tasteful. Maybe not all Americans were as moronic as he'd previously believed.

Incidentally, a voice sprang out from the corridor to ruin that thought. "WAIT!" An American boy with dark blonde hair shouted, kicking the door open abruptly. "I'm not late! Don't mark me off!" The boy begged, rushing into the room with his school bag in his hand. He wore a plain white t-shirt under what Arthur recognised to be a bomber jacket along with a pair of ripped jeans that appeared to have been torn deliberately.

"Go sign in Jones," the teacher said without sympathy.

"What?" Alfred groaned loudly running his hand through his fringe. "Come on! You always make me sign in! Have some compassion King! It was only because this old lady was going to be hit by a car so I had to-"

"No one wants to hear any hero stories!" Mr King declared, starting to lose his cool in the argument with the infuriating boy.

Alfred gave a coy smile, "are you sure? Why don't we ask the class then-?"

"Alright! Never mind! Just sit down!" The teacher snapped impatiently.

"Thank you," Alfred said exasperated, as if he had been the victim of annoying banter. He turned back to the snickering room, and his eyes fell on Arthur. He froze. "Wait- who're you?" He asked shamelessly pointing at the blonde.

Arthur flushed when all eyes turned to him, the mysterious new kid who had transferred mid-term. "Hi," Mr King looked over towards Arthur, "I'm sorry, what's your name? I'm not sure if you're on the role yet."

"I'm Arthur Kirkland." He said as confidently as he could, considering his embarrassment. The Brit could hear audible whispering about his accent and wished he could melt into his desk. Antonio was watching his expression and placed a reassuring hand briefly on to the pitiful boy's shoulder.

"Well, welcome to the class Arthur- Jones! For God's sake! Sit down!"

"But Artie's in my spot." He said incredulously as if he couldn't believe that there was no seat for him.

"It's Arthur," he corrected the American without hesitation, clenching his teeth at the detestable nickname. "I'm sorry, should I-"

"Get a desk from next door then!" Mr King was fed up at this point, the class had lost interest in the American boy but Alfred was still standing.

"Alright," Alfred sighed after a minute of staring at the desk that he had claimed at the beginning of term.

Mr King took this time to write the pages of work to do on the board. Everyone set to work including Arthur who flipped open his new textbook. "I forgot my book," Antonio said awkwardly, "mind if I share?"

Arthur smiled and pushed the book between them deciding it would be best to make as many friends as possible (because he would never do something for another person). "Not at all."

"Thanks,"

"Arthur, would you come up here for a minute?" And once more all eyes found themselves on the Brit, studying his face and judging his body. He was good looking, despite having rather bushy eyebrows and hair that he'd never in his life been able to sit neatly. Girls already had 'dibs' on him when they heard his upper-class accent, however, the accent they used when 'dibsing' him was enough to turn the Brit off most girls in the school. Boy, how he hated that accent.

"Well first off, welcome, I'm sorry you had to see that first thing. Jones is a character." Arthur nodded once and tried not to let amusement show on his face. "Have you done society and culture before?"

"Yes, at my last school." He answered quickly.

"Perfect, then, I wish you luck and hope Alfred doesn't bother you too much."

"I'm sure we'll get along," Arthur lied, believing that he needed to be polite and not sound judgemental (which he was, unavoidably).

The teacher quirked an eyebrow at him in disbelief, since most people would have been slightly more fazed by the student's display. "Well, everyone's entitled to their own opinions, sorry, that was off topic." He struggled to remember their original conversation. "Right, feel free to ask me anything, and I hope you get settled in."

"Thank you sir." Arthur gave a polite nod.

"Alright, you can sit down now." Just as the teen turned Alfred once again made his presence known by announcing to the teacher (and the rest of the class).

"They didn't have a desk, so I just got a chair."

Arthur stared at him wondering if this boy was really as big an idiot as he led on. He seemed dense, which was fair enough but his inflamed ego was like something out of a novel.

"I don't care, just sit down and do your work. I don't know why you even bothered taking this class." Mr King muttered the last bit, turning his attention to his laptop screen in a desperate attempt to block out the irritating student.

"It was either this or French, and God knows that French isn't going to happen with Francis in the class." He said bluntly; the room giggled.

Arthur sat down again but never tore his gaze from the American. His blue eyes caught the Brit's attention and he found himself almost poetically (it was in his nature) comparing them to the sea, intensified by the glasses he wore. Alfred was now dragging the chair across the floor ensuring that the noise was as loud as possible on the wooden surface. He stopped in front of Arthur.

"Can I help you?" Arthur asked, quite literally.

Alfred whistled and then grinned, "new kid's got attitude, you may want to work on the sarcasm though-"

"No, I mean- did you want something?" Arthur frowned as Alfred pulled his chair into the desk so that their knees bumped into each other. He was becoming infuriating. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Alfred, why don't you sit on my side?" Antonio offered seeing the Brit's face flush from the close proximity of Alfred's face to his.

"I forgot my text book." He shrugged while pulling the book so that he could read it, very close to him.

"If you do that I can't see." Antonio pulled it back to the centre.

"Awww, but you have better vision then me-"

"Then get new glasses, you always pull this st-"

"Switch with me," Arthur snapped. The room was dead silent; Mr King had lost interest and was watching youtube with headphones over his ears.

"Thanks Artie!" Alfred's hand dove into the mass of hair that belonged to the Brit who slapped the other's hand away in annoyance.

"Arthur," he corrected the other teen with a sigh. Now the book was in perfect sight for the three of them, however Alfred had no intention of doing the work laid out.

"So, 'Arthur', what's up? Why'd you move here?"

"Brother's work." Hell, he'd be saying this a lot today.

"Man, you have such a cool accent." He grinned and Arthur looked up at him, once again studying his face while finding his situation embarrassing.

"Thanks," he flushed at the compliment and smile he'd received.

"Al, do the work." Antonio scowled at him knowing that it had little effect.

"By the way," Alfred ignored his friend. "I'm Alfred F. Jones." He extended a hand which Arthur shook once.

"Arthur Kirkland."

"Dude, I can't believe you actually shook my hand… You're soooo British." Arthur didn't know whether to be offended, so he let the comment slide reassuring himself of how honourable it was to be called 'British'.

"Al…" Antonio said in a warning tone.

"C'mon Toni, how often do you get to talk to a British dude?" Alfred slung an arm around Arthur who had lost all sense of placement due to the physical contact and remained still. We're all Americans so…touchy feely?

"You'll have time after class, for now just focus."

"Toni has a stick up his ass because no matter how much he studies he's still waaayyyy under average." Alfred explained while withdrawing his arm and nudging the Brit.

"Alfred!" Antonio blushed from ear to ear out of humiliation of being called stupid by the American (of all people). "It's not like you can talk-"

"He's right Jones, your grades are shocking," Mr King pipped in, he'd obviously been listening for a while but showed little interest in their conversation, favouring the screen in front of him.

"Yeah, but I don't try." Arthur was overwhelmed by the bluntness Alfred used when speaking with authority. The boy had no respect for his friends, classmates or teachers. "Artie-"

"Yes?" Arthur turned immediately to Alfred without bothering to correct him.

"What subjects do you have today?" The American leant his head on his hand and gazed at the boy.

"Uh," Arthur rustled through his bag until he found the neatly folded sheet of paper the office lady had given him. "I have Ancient history next, PE, maths and study… is a 'study' a free period?"

Alfred seemed to have zoned out and was eyeing him carefully. Arthur desperately wished he could read the American's mind as the stare was making him feel uneasy. "Hm? Oh, yeah, I have one then too and I have history with you, great huh?" He grinned.

"Bloody fantastic." He muttered inaudibly.

"I have PE with you Arthur." Antonio pipped in suddenly, then returned to his text book.

"So what do you do for fun in good old England?" Alfred asked, turning his chair so that his back was against Toni and while he faced the Brit.

"Reading and writing I guess, I love football-"

"Football? Awesome! Me too!"

"Ah- wait, I mean soccer, we call it football in England." The blonde teen said bitting his lower lip and willing the conversation to end.

"Ohhhh," Alfred drawled out loudly then followed with an obnoxious laugh.

"Yeah…"

"That's it! JONES! Move to the back of the room!" Mr King shouted slamming his headphones down and pointing to the corner.

"Seriously?"

"No Alfred, he's kidding." Antonio rolled his eyes.

"Yes seriously!" Mr King almost spat.

"Man! Arthur, you got me in trouble!"

"No I-" Arthur started panicked that he was the cause of the commotion but Alfred ruffled his hair playfully and winked at him.

"Relax," was all he said before walking back and once again dragging his chair so that it grated against the wood to emphasise his annoyance.

"Jones!"

"You know, just because you put me back here it won't keep me from talking." He stated matter-of-factly while taking a seat, crossing his legs and leaning forward.

"If there was a way to shut you up I'd know, I'd pay for what ever could do it."

Alfred gave a wicked smile then cupped his hands around his mouth. "SO ARTHUR, YOU FREE THIS AFTER NOON?"

"GET OUT!" Arthur sank into his chair as the teacher pointed to the door. "Principal now!"

Alfred smirked and pulled his chair back beside Arthur.

"Alfred," Antonio gave a disappointed sigh.

"I'll see you next class." Alfred clapped the two boys on the shoulders then grinned at his enraged teacher as he left the room.

"Back to work guys." Mr King said in a menacing but soft voice.

Arthur had only ever heard of a 'cursed chair' in mythology. He never believed he would wind up sitting in one so evil. _And this is just first period_ was all Arthur could think as he turned to his text book again. The fun hadn't even started.

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Tell me if I should continue this, because I'm working on a few others at the moment. Thanks :)


	2. And this is history?

Nerro's busy with NaNoWriMo at the moment so this is unbetaed...

Please excuse any silly mistakes. I'm renowned for having them.

I would also like to thank: Yoseii-san, anon, Nerro, Hikaritears, dontfeelguilty, nydia-sama, Sam, Anonymous, Yamishun and ZemyxDexion... For reviewing!

I hope you enjoy the update!

* * *

With help from Antonio Arthur was able to find his next class which was more of a trek then he would have liked. Alfred was there already… sleeping on his desk with an arm childishly sprawled across the desk next to him 'minding' the spot. The Brit assumed that the spot wasn't reserved for him and looked around, there were plenty of seats available but he was honestly (and he would never admit it aloud) afraid of sitting alone. He had gathered enough attention as it was. "Artie, over here," Alfred had sat up and was now rubbing his eyes and adjusting his glasses with one hand while patting the desk next to him with the other.

"Thank you," he sat beside the American who was staring at him… or a certain part of him… "Don't stare, git." He mumbled embarrassed.

Alfred smirked, "are those things real?" He reached across and ran his thumb across one of Arthur's eyebrows earning a shove of protest from the shorter teen.

"Get off," Arthur said weakly with one eye closed, squinting as he flinched away from the other's touch. "Stop it."

"Now, now, Alfred." Came a thickly accented voice from behind the two causing Alfred to shudder. "Is zat 'ow we treat our friends?" The Frenchman asked. Both boys turned, Arthur curious while Alfred looking sceptical. The American still had his hands on the other's brow while Arthur's hands were on the teen's chest pushing him back. "Well, aren't we friendly?" Francis winked at the two; Arthur immediately removed his hands with a final shove.

Alfred was forced back and was no longer in reach of his new friend's face. "Arthur, this is Francis, Francis, Arthur," was the curt introduction.

"You are so cold, mon ami." The Frenchman mocked hurt placing a gloved hand over his heart for emphasis.

"Nice to meet you," Arthur held out his hand politely… innocently, which of course Francis took and immediately brought to his lips.

"Hey!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's arm and pulled it out of the French man's grasp a little too late.

Arthur wiped the back of his hand on his jeans. "Uhhh… That's his culture, right?" He asked needing reassurance.

"He's a shameless flirt." Alfred explained as Francis took a seat next to Arthur.

"I prefer to say, 'lover of all'." Francis scoffed at the American. "Pleased to meet you Arthur."

"Please stay away from me." Slipped out before the Brit could stop himself. Alfred laughed and put an arm around him drawing the boy into his chest.

"Don't worry Artie; I'll protect you, since I'm the hero!"

"I don't need protection!"

"See! Mon cher, Arthur wants to be wiz me."

"Shut up Frenchy!"

"What are you so upset for? You 'ave a girlfriend, non?"

Alfred blinked. "Your point?" Arthur was taken back, of course he'd know for a long time that he was gay and believed at this point that he had a knack for sensing it. He felt Alfred sending him waves of homosexuality… was he wrong?

"My point is zat you can only 'ave one, not zem both." Francis frowned leaning on the desk now.

"But Artie's my new friend," he argued weakly.

"Arthur," the Brit interjected hotly. "Bloody hell, my name's Arthur." He pulled out of Alfred's hold on him and gave him a disapproving look.

Alfred just laughed off the glare he received and ruffled Arthur's hair fondly. "Where is the teacher?" The blonde boy suddenly asked his peers.

"Good question." The American looked towards the door, however; no student made any movement towards finding their teacher or a substitute. "Who cares?"

"Arthur, tell me, 'ave you joined any of ze clubs 'ere?" Francis asked and Alfred huffed from loosing attention.

"Not yet, no."

"He likes soccer," the younger teen but in while wrapping his arm possessively around the teen's waist. Arthur squirmed in the grip and attempted to pry the other's fingers off but Alfred proved more determined.

"Would you stop touching me?" The English boy asked exasperated.

"Oui, Alfred, give poor Arthur some space." Francis scowled at the American then placed a comforting hand on the victim's leg who stiffened at the contact which was hidden under the desk. He felt his leg being squeezed and on impulse slammed his thigh into the desk.

"Keep your bloody hands to yourself, you wanker!" He shouted earning stares from his classmates.

The Frenchman gave a yelp and shook his throbbing hand after having it crushed into the table. "Merde! Je mal a la main! C'était froid!"

"Speak English, you moron." Alfred said, oblivious as to what had happened.

"He said: shit that hurt my hand. That was cold." A pretty girl with short brown hair translated with a smirk.

"Hey Tilly!" Alfred greeted her grinning.

"Hey babe." She gave the American a quick but shameless kiss. "Arthur, right? I heard some girls talking about you."

"Gossiping? Is that why you're late?" Alfred laughed.

"Yes, but I don't think the teacher's turning up today." She sat next to Alfred. "I'm Matilda Kelly." She informed Arthur with a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you."

"Wow, British," she fawned, "I love your accent."

"I like yours too, Australian?"

"Good guess." Matilda grinned. "So, I hope my idiot boyfriend hasn't harassed you too much." She thumped Alfred's skull playfully with her knuckle.

"Hey!"

"Apart from being sent to the headmaster first thing, he's been pleasant." Arthur shrugged. Matilda had a calm way about her; a laid back nature that made her easy to get along with.

"Non, 'e 'as been torturing mon amour." Francis said dramatically and Matilda laughed.

"Please don't call me your love." Arthur was officially creeped out.

"Yeah!" Alfred exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Well, looks like you're popular mate." Tilly said to Arthur while the American and Frenchman argued over whose property the Brit was.

"I honestly haven't done anything." He told her incredulously.

"All it takes is eye contact." She shrugged. "But they're good guys, Alfred especially," she claimed being openly biased. "He's taken a real shine to you." She started fidgeting with her silver bracelet that had her name inscribed on it. It matched a necklace that hung loosely over a white mid-drift singlet. She wore a pair of khakis and black military boots giving her an almost tom-boy air.

"Eye contact and an accent." He agreed finally and Tilly laughed.

"So, how are you settling in?"

"Fine, Americans are quite… friendly." That didn't quite do Alfred justice. "Unpacking is a nightmare though, I had no idea I owned so much." He looked back at Alfred when the teen stood.

"Well at least I have a girlfriend! You jerk!"

"Zat is my point! You can not 'ave Arthur!"

"I'm not a piece of land!" Arthur finally spoke up.

"Can you stop fighting over him?" Matilda huffed. "You're so immature." Alfred laughed. "You're the worst offender." She elbowed the American.

"Hey!"

"Get your hands off me you frog!"

"Don't touch Artie!"

"Arthur!"

"Alfred! Sit down!"

"Zat is my foot! Ow! Ow!"

"Oi! Shut your mouths! Che Palle! I'm only ten minutes late and you're all acting up!" Mr Vargas yelled moodily storming in.

"Actually mate, you've missed half the lesson." Matilda said helpfully.

The Italian teacher gave her a quick glare.

"Well, whatever! Since half the fucking lesson is over just do what you want." He said sitting on the arm chair at the front of the room and pulling out a magazine that appeared to be written in Italian. "Quietly!" He added when the noise in the room picked up again.

"He swore." Arthur marvelled as if he was unaware that they had that vocabulary.

"Yeah he does that." Alfred smirked. "So why're you late?" He shamelessly shouted to the front of the room.

"That's none of your business, but I was with a student."

"Was she hot?"

"No, you dumb shit!" Mr Vargas yelled flustered. "Screw this! I'm going back to the teacher's lounge!" He gathered his things and rushed out somehow even more angry than he originally was.

"He didn't answer my question." Alfred pouted.

"Alfred." Matilda snapped. "Could you stop harassing people for just one period? Are you physically able to?"

"You're lucky you didn't go to school where I went." Arthur added.

"He'll get over it." The American waved his hand dismissively. "You worry too much."

"Alfred, mon cher, you should listen to ze people around you." Francis piped in helpfully then snaked his arms around Arthur's waist.

"Cut it out!" Arthur shouted turning red. At this point there were few people that had their voice lowered so this level of volume was appropriate.

"Alright Francis, switch with me," Matilda, the voice of reason, stood up. Fransic sighed and withdrew his hands, innocently holding them up to Matilda.

"I am not touching 'im."

"You'd better not be!" Alfred pouted pulling the Brit towards him so that he hand his arms around the other's back.

"Git!" Arthur yelled pulling at the younger teen's hair in attempt to free himself.

"That hurts! OW! OW! OW!" Apparently Alfred had a sensitive skull.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" A voice boomed from the door.

The room immediately fell silent. A German man who appeared to be in his early twenties stood in the doorway wearing a suit.

"Hey sir!" Alfred grinned earning looks of horror from his class mates who were terrified into obedience at the sight of the man.

"Sir?" Arthur thought aloud. That sounded rather formal for his American friend.

"What's going on in here? Where is your teacher?"

"Vee, Ludwig, don't be angry. Big brother is probably busy." A smaller man that looked incredibly similar to their history teacher popped out from behind the German. "And besides, this looks like fun. Oh! Ciao Alfred!" The other Italian waved to Alfred who beat his chest with a balled fist then held out a peace sign.

"That is unacceptable! You're a useless excuse for a teacher and so is that brother of yours! Jones! Do NOT encourage him!" The P.E teacher barked gruffly. Alfred just laughed and Arthur sunk once more into his seat. Why of all people did he choose to sit next to this American lunatic?

"Where is that useless brother of yours?" The German scowled at the Italian who quivered and shrugged. "Well, I'll go look for him then. If any of you say one word I will personally escort you to hell."

"I would not mind zat if 'e escorted me zer." Francis declared openly.

"Did you say something?" Ludwig snapped at the French teen.

"Non, I did not." He sighed contentedly. The room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Vargas, say here and mind the class!" He instructed.

"Yes sir!" Feliciano Vargas saluted the teacher as he left. To Arthur this man appeared to be a total air head so he asked the closest person near him (that wasn't Francis) "what does he teach?"

"Art, freaking best teacher ever!" Alfred exclaimed with a thumbs up.

Feliciano was smiling dumbly at the class. "Okay! Hello everyone! I'm Feliciano Vargas, but all my friends call me Feli! Oh, but I get in trouble if we are on first name basis so you can just call me Mr Vargas. Wait! I think I know you guys!" The spacey man observed happily. "No! I don't know you!" He sang pointing at Arthur.

Arthur's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He was sick of being pointed out and started at so he frowned at the teacher with a scowl known to frighten young children. "I'm Arthur Kirkland." Why should he be polite? After all, he didn't do art.

"What a face," a Polish boy at the front whistled appreciatively.

"Y-you're scaring me," Feliciano admitted with a whimper. "Alfred, make him stop! I think it's frozen!"

Alfred looked at the irritated boy's face and grinned before thumping him over the back of his head. Arthur was once more the centre of attention as his head was thrown forward by the force of the book Alfred had used. "You… TWAT!" He shrieked raising his fist to punch the American which was grabbed by Francis, who used this opportunity to loop his arm around Arthur in an attempt to restrain him while feeling his slender form.

"Get off me!" He thrashed around.

"Calm down." Matilda said standing and stepping in front of Alfred blocking his view more in an attempt to distract Arthur then anything. "Francis!" She yelled giving him a disappointed scowl; she knew full well what he was up to.

"'e is stronger zen 'e looks," The Frenchmen explained feeling her annoyance was misdirected.

"Vee…"

"Dude! Calm down! I'm sorry alright?" Alfred leant over the table to see around Matilda.

"Don't 'dude' me! You American-!"

"Chillax man," the Polish boy said reasonably.

Arthur realised he was making no progress except for darkening the clean slate that was his reputation. He stopped flailing and let his head fall down in defeat. America was hell on Earth. "Are you alright now?" Tilly asked.

"Arthur?" Alfred sounded concerned. Arthur was now completely humiliated after realising how immature he had acted.

"Excuse me," Arthur looked pleadingly at Francis over his shoulder. Guilt wrenched at the French boy's conscience as he released the blonde. Arthur stood up and left the room without another word.

"Arthur," Feli said weakly, after Arthur shut the door he started crying and sobbing for Ludwig. Matilda (who was close to Feliciano due to him babysitting Alfred and her during his youth) went to his side and rubbed the useless teacher's back reassuringly. "I'm a failure as a teacher!" He whaled.

"No, Feli, shhh…" She comforted him as if he were a child.

"H-he didn't take a hall pass." Mr Vargas blubbered and the entire class face palmed. "And he was so sad," that was more like it. "Vee… Where is Ludwig?"

Alfred made eye contact with Matilda who smiled and nodded knowingly at the American. "I'm going after him!" He proclaimed standing dramatically.

"You always must be ze 'ero," Francis sighed in agreement.

"I'll bring him back! Don't worry Feli!" He punched the air enthusiastically and a few people clapped awkwardly encouraging his ridiculous behaviour.

"Just don't do anything you'll regret." Tilly sighed and that was all Alfred needed.

* * *

First off, I really want to know what pairings to include in later chapters... I have a tone of pairings I love but don't know how popular they are so I'm not sure if I should include them... It would help a lot if you would tell me what you want to see.

I'm going to try to update this at least once a fortnight if I can't once a week. Sorry, but I'm in my last year of highschool and have limited time.

Also, I know a lot of you guys hate OCs but I don't want you to hate Matilda... I don't want you to love her either, she's just there to be a tragic bystander in the eventual love affair. She's kind of the 'trophie girlfriend' that you'd typically expect the 'popular guy' to have.

I guess you could think of her as a Female Australia... Since Australia's character isn't really known... But she's not really meant to be important, so don't think too hard. Her name is Matilda, as in the song 'Waltzing Matilda' and the last name Kelly from Ned Kelly... Who I actually think was Irish but is a legend down under.


	3. This is incredible!

Thank you: illsigninsomeothertime, ZemyxDexion, Hikaritears, lazy2login, Guppyvis and mya3dan

I apologise for any: spelling, grammatical, silly, stupid, ridiculous mistakes that I have made… Nerro is still doing NaNoWriMo, which is brilliant! Just bad news for me…

Also, didn't get much feedback on pairings so I'll go with my gut for now, but please let me know if you want to see this with that… I aim to please!

* * *

Alfred shot out of the room and into the one next door, abruptly opening it and shouting, "Arthur!" The seventh grade students stared at him in amazement and after peering around the room while ignoring the teacher's asking what he was doing, he slammed the door shut. Francis usually went to the bathroom to sulk, so that's where he tried next.

"Arthur?" He bellowed, the sound echoed off the tiled walls and made Arthur cringe. He was currently hiding in the disabled toilet block but had no desire to reveal his location. The bathroom was, fortunately, deserted due to the fact that it was class time and this was the highest point in the school building. "I know you're in here," he bluffed.

"Oh, just leave!" Arthur shouted sitting on the closed lid of the toilet and noting its surprisingly sanitary condition.

"I'm not going anywhere! Open up!" He banged on the stall door. "I can break this down! Trust me!"

"Haven't you humiliated me enough yet?" How cliché. "Do you really want to add 'embarrassing event in the bathroom' on my list of humiliations?" He spoke more softly towards the end of the sentence. "Just leave."

Alfred stopped banging when he heard a sniff. Was Arthur crying? Shit, he did seem the type. "Arthur," he tried again gently, "I'm sorry." There was silence for a minute, then the Brit spoke up.

"You should be." Yet for some strange reason the older teen struggled to find truth in his accusation. He wasn't angry at Alfred… Exasperated, maybe, but not angry. Alfred was an energetic, fun and warm person that deserved to be around people more like that. Compared to Alfred; Arthur was just dull and moody. "I'm sorry that I tried to hit you."

"That's alright; lots of people try to hit me." He claimed a little bit too cheerfully. "Let's go back to class."

"I am **never** going back to class."

"No one cares, seriously! Okay, I've done way worse!" Boy, did Arthur believe that. "And that tantrum you threw will just make you more popular. Who doesn't want to be friends with an angry British dude?"

"You're mad!"

"No, you are… How does such a short guy get so angry?"

"I meant insane!"

"This is stupid! Open the door!"

Arthur surrendered with a 'tch' and unbolted the lock so that he was face to face with the American. Alfred gave him a lopsided grin and Arthur looked down embarrassed by his behaviour. This was not how a gentleman should act. "Dude, your face is red." Then again, he wasn't with civilised company.

"Shut it." The Brit snapped pushing past Alfred violently. He washed his face in the sink to cool his burning cheeks down and hide the fact that he had possibly been close to tears. As he rubbed the water over his face he felt a pair of arms slip around his vulnerable figure.

He shot up, straightening his back and looking over his shoulder to yell at the American. "I'm here for you man," Alfred told him reassuringly. Bloody fantastic, now his face was red again.

"Would you stop touching me? I don't need you 'here' for anything!" He claimed struggling. "Are you deaf?"

"No, I hear ya." Al squeezed him tighter. "I just thought you could use a hug; Tilly calls them the 'magic cure'."

"What I could 'use' is some personal space." There was nothing magic about the cure.

"Personal space is pretty hard to come by here; America's over populated as it is."

"Not in the bathroom it's not!" Arthur pried the other boy's fingers from around his waist. "Alfred, thank you for your concern, but I don't need a hug. I'm fine now. I'll come back to class."

For God only knows what reasons, Alfred decided to keep his mouth shut. As they started to head towards the door Arthur noticed what appeared to be a rolled up piece of paper on the floor of the oddly clean bathroom. Suddenly his hand shot out towards it and he swiped it off the ground. It wasn't ordinary paper. "Artie, what's up?"

"Do many people do weed at this school?" He asked somewhat nostalgically.

"Huh?" Alfred suddenly noticed the stick he was holding and bent over for closer inspection. "Shit, people need to flush this crap."

"There's a good five pounds left on this." Arthur marvelled staring at it a bit too intently.

"Dude!" Alfred snatched it before Arthur could protest and dropped it into the nearest stall. "Are you into that stuff?"

"Don't be daft!" The English boy claimed defensively. "It's vile."

"Good," Alfred smiled, he didn't realise how tense he'd felt seconds ago. Arthur noticed the relief on the American's face but didn't question it. It wasn't his business.

* * *

Now the two stood awkwardly in front of the door to the history classroom. Arthur had his hand on the door knob, unsure. The sandy haired teen grinned when the Brit looked to him for reassurance then carefully paced his hand over the English boy's and gave it a squeeze before opening the door.

It was in this significant moment that Arthur realised how beautiful the American was and it was in this significant moment he jolted his hand away with a look of horror. He had a crush on Alfred. In such a short period of time it could be no more then a simple crush based on appearance and the surface of his personality. But it was there, creating knots in his stomach and causing his heart to fall out of its rhythmic beat.

Alfred opened the door with a click and shouted energetically "we're back!" Arthur wanted to hide; everyone was staring at him like he was a lunatic.

"Vee… Alfred! Welcome back!" Mr Vargas smiled from the front of the room. "Arthur, I'm sorry! Don't hate me!" He cried causing the blonde to stare at him.

Why on earth would he hate him? Still, he immediately felt guilty, "uh, no, it's quite alright Mr. Vargas, I shouldn't have taken off like that." For some reason he felt almost too formal when he spoke to the Italian. He took his seat next to Francis and Alfred joined him.

"Are you alright now?" Tilly asked with concern.

That was the most dreaded question. It was probably the last thing anyone wanted to be asked after they've come back from sulking in the bathroom. "I'm fine now." He gave her an apologetic look, then, because he was a gentleman he turned to Mr Vargas.

"I'm sorry for disrupting the class and troubling you." His clean slate was gone; he'd never be accepted in America now because of his temper. Well, at least he still had Alfred.

"I'm just happy you aren't mad at me. You make very scary faces." He cowered.

"Well, I'm glad you aren't upset but I was out of line. I'm sorry everyone." Arthur's face was turning more and more red as he spoke. He hated swallowing his pride in order to apologise but felt it was necessary after disrupting the class.

"Don't sweat it." Alfred laughed.

"Does your head, like, hurt?" The Polish boy asked.

"If you want I can get ice from the nurse for you." A Lithuanian offered with an anxious look.

"N-no, thank you." The Brit said now utterly ashamed for making a stranger worry about him after trying to kill one of his classmates.

"'e must be jet lagged, zat is why 'e could not control 'is temper." Francis concluded.

"And it's not like you were unprovoked. This Guy's annoying." Tilly smirked.

"Hey!" Her boyfriend protested.

"It's probably stressful getting settled, feel free to use this guy as your punching bag." The Australian girl demonstrated nudging Alfred with her fist.

"Why me? Why not that French jerk?"

Everyone was making excuses for him as if they wanted him to be there. Well, this was America. Still, for the first time since landing Arthur felt as though he belonged. He had never felt such awe for a group of students whose names he had yet to learn.

"I told you so." Alfred gave a satisfactory grin with glittering eyes which were filled with pride.

"This is different." He thought aloud. Before the English boy had even entered his last school he was being judged by his classmates. When his family's reputation suffered so did he. Here, even though he was the one that screwed up, no one criticised him. And so, Arthur decided that he liked the school despite its unorthodox state and obnoxious students.

The Brit was escorted to P.E by Matilda after Alfred finally let go of his arm. As it turned out she had the same subject in this slot. "We're doing tack events at the moment, do you have a uniform?" She asked pushing fly away strands of hair behind her ear.

"I picked it up this morning." He told her although his voice was distant.

"Good. Hey Toni!" She waved at the Spaniard.

Antonio jogged towards them with his typical dreamy smile, "hola, Arthur, how are you going?" The blonde said nothing, confused as to whether or not Toni knew about his tantrum. "Al texted me."

"That boy and his rumours." Tilly rolled her eyes disapprovingly.

"I'm fine now, thank you." He replied politely. He was a gentleman after all.

"I think Alfred's in love with you Arthur," he said mockingly winking at Arthur while grinning at Tilly.

"I think you're jealous Toni." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you love him too, that would be an awkward love triangle." The brunet boy sounded defensive as he argued with the Australian.

"You totally want in on it." She declared hoisting her shoulder strap over her head and turning. "I'm going to change. Toni, I'm trusting you to keep your hands off the new kid."

"Oh, ha ha, Tilly!" He called sarcastically as she walked away. "Sorry Arthur."

"Right," the blonde said awkwardly, "I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable around you chaps." He laughed actually feeling more relaxed then anything. This childish bickering was different from the taunting he'd endured previously.

"You'll get used to it, I actually have a boyfriend." He told Arthur whose head shot up faster then his eyebrows.

"Hence the gay jokes." He marvelled.

"Well, everyone here is flexible in some way." Toni laughed. This came as a surprise to the new student as anyone that was different at his old school was labelled and harassed for the rest of their schooling life. "I take it you're no exception."

"Is it obvious?" He admitted feeling no shame to admit his preferences after his friend had been so open.

"A bit," Toni smiled opening the door for the Brit as they entered the changing room. Arthur turned away nervously. If you had asked him to strip last year he'd (we… he'd give you a strange look but) have had no problem with it. "Is something the matter?"

No one seemed to have any reservations about changing which made sweat form on his excessively thick brows. All the boys came in different shapes and sizes as was natural, Arthur found himself wishing Alfred was next to him to draw away the attention he was receiving… and because the thought of the American stripping quite appealed to Arthur. "I'm quite alright," he decided taking his pants off first and replacing them with a pair of unflattering yellow shorts.

The problem lay beneath his top. On a night he'd rather not recall (not that he **could** remember much of it) the blond had gotten a red and white electric guitar tattooed onto his back. He himself thought it was rather interesting and gave him character… however the last thing he needed was people staring at his pale and scrawny back.

Students were starting to file out of the bathroom while Arthur fiddled with his shoes. When there were less than ten students left he pulled his shirt over his head and quickly threw on the black singlet top. "I saw that," Toni said with a laugh.

"I was a bit out of it one night," Arthur explained flushing.

"Al's going to assault you when he sees it." Suddenly the Brit turned a shade darker. "Your secret's safe with me, but he'll find out. He always does."

"Really?"

"You sound sceptical mi amigo, have you seen his puppy dog eyes?" Toni asked and Arthur snorted at how ridiculous it sounded. "Don't knock it 'till you've seen it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They left the changing room and headed towards the athletic fields where the hurdles, high jump and shot-put were stationed. "Guess who's set the most athletic records here." Toni said out of the blue.

Arthur scowled not really interested. "You?" A laugh indicated that he'd guessed wrong. "Alfred?"

"Si! And the second most?"

"You?" Another laugh. "Francis?"

"He can't finish the four hundred meters."

"Matilda?"

"Si! She's our high jump champion." He explained proudly. "High jump and hurdles. Al has all the running events, shot put, discus and javelin."

This didn't come as a surprise to Arthur since he had already identified them as rather fit. Matilda was stretching as she came towards them. "Looks big on you, mate," she indicated to the uniform; both Toni and Arthur examined his gear. "What events are you good at?"

"I'm a descent sprinter."

"Right, Toni, do you want to do that too? I want to work a bit on my jumps if that's okay with you." She pointed at the high jump.

"Sure, go ahead." Antonio smiled encouragingly.

Matilda beamed, grateful for the responsibility he took, "thanks."

"Let's get our names marked off first." Arthur was surprised to discover that Lugwig…. Whose last name remained a mystery, was in fact their physical education teacher.

"I do not look favourably on slackers," he told the Brit with a thick accent and crossed a pair of muscular arms across his chest. "Do not be tardy, clean your uniform every week and train hard. That is all!"

Arthur felt a sudden urge to salute but settled for chanting, "Yes sir." The German left feeling satisfied and Arthur let his posture slip slightly in relief.

"Let's see how you go." Toni held a stop watch at the end of the 100 m dash. There were six students lined up; they were all considerably taller then the Brit. The whistle blew and Arthur sprung forward taking the lead within seconds and crossing the finish line first. He panted watching the others finish after him then turned to Antonio. "Incredible! Arthur! You're two seconds away from beating the record!"

"R-really?" Arthur tired to be modest; he had set the record for a range of events at his old school purely because they were known for their academic brilliance and not sporting legends. However; the Brit was not praised for his upper body strength and often fell short in long distant running limiting him to sprinting and jumping events.

"You should join the team, Al would be thrilled!" Thrilled? Alfred would be thrilled to have competition? Not threatened? "I'll get the coach, he should see you run!" Antonio bounced off with excitement before Arthur could protest.

And so, he was made to run seven times, each race he improved by a fraction of a second. Lugwig was thoroughly impressed and went so far as to put both hands on his shoulders and praise the boy in German. As it turns out, training was at four o'clock on Tuesdays. After the initial embarrassment of being accepted into the team he watched the high jump Tilly was participating in. She stood with four boys and two girls whose skills were belittled when the Australian made her jump. Her back arched slightly as she soared higher then Arthur had seen anyone jump before. There was something artistic in her movements which Arthur deduced was influenced by ballet or gymnastics.

She landed and rolled off the mat then waved at the Spaniard and Brit before lining up again. After class Arthur approached her to question her technique… And because Toni was putting away the equipment and it was too awkward to stand alone. "That was incredible!" He told her and Tilly beamed.

"Thanks, I heard you're on the track team now, great work! Al's going to freak." Arthur's heart sunk immediately thinking that the American would not be encouraging. "It's a good thing, mate. He'll love it."

"I didn't have an option other then to join; it can't be helped." He brushed off her compliment. "Have you done dancing for long? I thought your technique was rather artistic."

Matilda's face contorted to one of agony before she stuck out her tongue and said, "yuck." Arthur waited for more of a response until she gave him one. "Yeah, I did ballet in Australia for nine years." She took a long drink out of a water bottle then poured some over her tanned forehead and offered it to Arthur.

"Did you stop because you moved?" Arthur asked accepting the bottle and sipping the liquid. Tilly looked down with a nostalgic smile.

"Not exactly, I moved to get away from it." The Brit gave her a curious look with his eyebrows knitted together and Matilda groaned then ran a hand through her sweaty hair. "It was so competitive, you don't have 'friends', my teacher only spoke French." That explained how she understood Francis. "All I did was dance all day and bathe in ice all night." She leant against the brick wall outside of the divided change rooms. "They put weights on your feet you know; when you can't 'fly' like they want you to. That's why I love to jump. I can feel my weightlessness."

"What happened that you gave up?" Arthur asked now interested in what had caused her to finally move.

"They told me I wasn't good enough and my parents shouted at me a lot; apparently I was a waisted investment." Tilly said bitterly. "So I moved here."

Arthur could never have guessed that this school had been a refuge for a girl that appeared to have her act together. However; there was something in her reluctance that betrayed her and told the teen that there was more to the story. "You know I never had a friend until I met Alfred?" She smiled again at the mention of the American's name and Arthur felt a strange connection despite their different situations.

"Yeah," he said hiding the relation he sensed between them. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents." To Arthur that sounded like the most tragic part of her story.

"Don't be," she pressed her lips together and shrugged. "Hurry up and change, we have maths next."

* * *

I'm not so happy with this chapter... I'm sorry if you didin't like it, Al will be back soon though :)

I'm also sorry if you hate Matilda; I have all these ideas for characters but I think I'm putting too much into her.

Still want to know about pairings...

Reviews are appreciated!


	4. This is worrying

Hey guys, this one's a bit of a quickie... Beta's still on NaNoWriMo so if you spot any mistakes please point them out to me. I'd appreciate it :)

Thank you: Randomanime456, PyroScorpion, cbf signing in, looneytune, Hikaritears, ZemyxDexion and mya3dan for reviewing!

And to Supa kawaii... your review was truely inspirational, I advise all my readers to check out her review because it's something... I mean, I don't remember creating a character called 'Melondy' or ever stating Arthur's Indian heritage. - who ever you are, your review made me laugh.

* * *

Matilda abandoned her girl friends in favour of sitting next to Arthur during maths class. Arthur found her engaging with stimulating topics of discussion. Tilly's parents were British but had moved to Australia before she was born. The English boy was delighted to hear about her British lineage and bombarded her with questions. Despite the Brit's eager curiosity about her past Matilda steered the conversation elsewhere. "When you finish unpacking we should hang out, yeah?"

"Sure," Arthur laughed at her fervour. "So, are we ever going to learn anything from him?" He pointed to the maths teacher who was sleeping on his desk.

"Doubt it from that dag*," She laughed leaning back on her chair legs to talk to the Japanese boy behind her. "G'day Kiku, do you want to take over again?"

Kiku Honda was a shy boy who liked to sense the mood and contributed little to conversations. He was described as 'pleasant' by his class mates and had a few close friends (and Tilly was not one of them). On the day that Heracles Karpusi became the math teacher of an oddly motivated class Kiku began his teaching career. He had knowledge far above that of an eleventh grade student and when Matilda had suggested that he take over the class at the start of the year he was overwhelmed with enthusiasm.

"Of course," Kiku nodded and stood to make his way to the front of the room. The lesson started and Arthur found him surprisingly easy to understand despite his accent. The Japanese boy was cute with rather angelic features which were highlighted by a mop of dark hair. At the end of the lesson Arthur happily discovered that he had retained most of what he'd learnt and whispered to Matilda. "He's brilliant," to which the Australian simply replied.

"Yep," and went back to struggling with her equation. Arthur noticed that the question she was stuck on was not incredibly difficult and at this point in her schooling career basic trigonometry should be second nature.

"Do you want help?" Arthur offered and Matilda waved her hand dismissively without tearing her eyes from the paper.

"Nah, mate, I'll get it," she smiled at him then went back to chewing on the tip of her pen. "I didn't go to a proper school until two years ago, so this is new to me." She admitted.

Arthur felt pity for her being deprived of an important part of her childhood but said nothing. "Matilda-san," Kiku approached her after he had assigned the work. "How are you coping with the exercises?"

"Not bad, Arthur thinks you're 'brilliant'," she quoted and Arthur flushed then coughed nervously.

"Well, your teaching style appeals to me." He explained glaring at the Australian from the side.

"That's not what you said." Matilda teased.

"You've been hanging around Alfred too long." Arthur muttered and she grinned as if that was a good thing.

Kiku blushed then smiled; studying Arthur, "I am happy to hear that, please feel free to ask me about anything you don't understand."

The Brit returned his smile. "Thank you, I will." At that moment the bell rang and Matilda stood declaring that she was starving.

"Arthur, I have to run. Do you know where the cafeteria is?" The sudden thought of being alone daunted the teen so he hesitated, about to answer when Kiku but in.

"I will take Arthur-san there." The Japanese boy said then looked to Arthur. "Please wait outside for me while I speak to Karpusi Sensei."

"Thanks Kiku," Tilly gave him a wink that suggested she didn't believe his offer was out of selflessness. "See you this arvo*, Arthur." And with that she rushed out of the room.

"I'll just wait here then." He shut the door deciding not to ask why Kiku needed to speak with Heracles.

"The lesson is over," Kiku placed a hand on the teacher's shoulder. Heracles opened his eyes and yawned then sat up and placed his hand on the student's.

"Who's the new kid?" He asked and Kiku tipped his head, curious as to why the maths teacher cared when he barely knew any of his class mate's names.

"Arthur-san," he said simply. "He is waiting for me outside."

"He's cute," the Greek man observed earning a thump on his head as Kiku flushed angrily. "For you I mean."

"Please do not joke around." He sighed and Heracles withdrew his hand. "What time should I come over tonight?" The Japanese boy asked sounding less upset.

"You shouldn't," was the straightforward response.

"Heracles-?"

"You shouldn't call me that either," he said coldly then ran a hand down his face with a troubled expression. Kiku looked hurt but his lacking reaction suggested that this was not the first time they had had this conversation. "Nine- no, make it eight." He finally said then looked into the Japanese boy's moist but glistening eyes. "And this really is the last time."

"It always is," he leant over to gently kiss his teacher who had remained seated the entire time. Kiku left and shut the door again to allow the older man to sleep. "Please come with me," he motioned to Arthur.

"Right," the Brit walked along side the quiet teen. "Do you take over the class often?" He asked to break the silence.

"Most of the time." Kiku looked ahead smiling for a reason unknown to most. "Do you like maths?"

"Not at all, to be frank." Arthur admitted. "I prefer English."

"I see, I enjoy reading English classics." He told the blond who pounced at a mention of his favourite pass time.

"Which is your favourite?" He asked eagerly.

Kiku gave a short laugh, "I take it this is a common interest. Dracula is my personal favourite; Western culture has invented some of the best horror."

"To be honest I've never read that one."

"Which is your favourite?"

"I quite like Pride and Prejudice, it's not horror though." Arthur admitted feeling that his choice was slightly flamboyant.

"I will have to take it out of the library." Kiku decided aloud and Arthur stopped suddenly, pulling his green bag around to the side then withdrawing from the front compartment a copy of the English novel.

"I was reading on the bus this morning, you're welcome to borrow it, save you a trip." He offered finding pleasure in watching the Japanese boy's expressions change from passive, to startled and finally to embarrassed.

"Thank you," he accepted the book smiling at the cover. "I promise to take care of it."

"Don't mention it." Arthur beamed feeling warm around the shy teen. Suddenly, a contrasting, cold air surrounded him when a pair of arms found their way around Arthur's waist, taking him by surprise. "Artie!" Alfred sang throwing him so that his legs were off the ground then dropping him quickly enough that he was forced to stumble a landing.

"Bloody hell Alfred!" Arthur shouted shoving the overly cheerful teen to about an arms length. "I told you to stop touching me! You can't go around picking people up!" Alfred just grinned in obvious disagreement.

"Alfred-san, have you finished watching the movie I leant you?"

"Hm? Hey Kiku! I didn't see you! Not yet," Alfred suddenly slapped Arthur's shoulder with the back of his hand earning a scowl for it. "Come over to mine and watch it with me, you too Kiku."

"No way in hell." Arthur shot him a spiteful look and rubbed the spot the American had hit before his 'flash of brilliance'.

"Of course, when are you available?" Kiku responded.

"Let's do it Saturday."

"I'm not going; it's bad enough I have to spend the day with you at school." Arthur noticed how much more confident he was feeling after speaking with Alfred in the bathroom. He knew he could be himself and be accepted as the younger teen struck him as anything but false. He genuinely liked Arthur.

"Please Artie!" And there they were; the legendary 'puppy dog eyes' Toni had warned him about. His eyes watered, his cheeks flushed and his bottom lip quivered.

"N-no." Arthur held strong but couldn't tear his gaze away from the look, it was mesmerising. "Stop it!"

"Pwwwwweeeaaassseeee."

Kiku covered his mouth while he chuckled so as to muffle the sound. He could sense a strange connection between the pair which he passed off as Alfred's obsession with accents. "I suggest you agree, Alfred-san can be stubborn."

"Oh, alright! Now cut it out!" The English boy shouted. Alfred grinned from ear to ear then placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"You won't regret it."

"Of course…"

Once they had found a place to sit outside Arthur withdrew his lunch which had been made by his older brother. Alfred had what appeared to be a super sized burger with almost every filling imaginable oozing from the sides and making the Brit nauseous. He watched in horror as the younger teen took a bite but decided not to say anything as it would sound rude.

Francis appeared later with a blonde girl who was wheeling over another boy that looked identical to Alfred. In fact, the only noticeable difference was the hair length and the wheel chair he sat in. "You didn't tell me you had a twin." Arthur marvelled while the group was still out of ear shot.

"Well, you didn't ask." He accused then slung an arm around his brother's shoulders. "This is Mattie."

The frailer looking boy gave an unsure smile that was friendly but false. "I'm Mathew Jones." He introduced himself.

"Arthur Kirkland." They exchanged greetings then Francis sat down pulling the blonde girl into his lap.

"Francis, stop that." She said seriously but with a hint of flirtation. Arthur distinguished her accent immediately as being French however it wasn't nearly as strong as Francis'.

"Zis is-"

"I can introduce myself!" She snapped. "I'm Jean." The French girl wriggled away from Francis who pouted from the loss of body heat. It was apparent that his pout had no power in comparison to Alfred's.

"Pleasure," Alfred gave a wide smile at the response (which was incredibly British in his eyes) and poked the new student's cheek a number of times before being yelled at to, "Stop that!"

The group sat under a large magnolia tree at a table which had been recently painted red to hide the graffiti Antonio, Francis and Gilbert had inflicted on it. After chatting at Arthur about his old life and questions he'd been asked multiple times he finally asked, "Where are Matilda and Antonio?"

"At a meeting, zey are ze school captains," Francis informed him.

"Is that like being a head boy and girl?"

"Uh, it's a prefect," Mathew put in helpfully although his voice was drowned out by Alfred's laughing.

"I was captain for a while." Alfred told Arthur whose eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"The teachers elected you?"

"Whaaat? Dude! Students pick the captains." Alfred gave Arthur a look that told the Brit his methods of choosing their captains was interior… Which it wasn't. "Best week of my life!"

"What hap-?"

"Hey loosers!" A German boy appeared grinning wildly. "I'm too awesome today! Elizabeta's going to tutor me."

"Héderváry Sensei?" Kiku asked, surprised by the news.

"That's great dude!"

"It's a first step. Now, if you can ruin 'er marriage you can elope and be wiz 'er." At this the Brit's head shot up with a look of horror towards Francis.

From what Arthur had gathered; the albino was in love with a teacher who had agreed to tutor him and he planned to convince her to divorce her husband. Classy. "Who's this guy?" Gilbert asked rudely.

"Artie," Alfred swung an arm around his neck and drew his head down. "He's a stiff British dude."

"Arthur," why did he even bother correcting the American? "And shut it!" He pulled Alfred's arm from around him and elbowed him mercilessly in the gut. Al just laughed as per usual despite being winded and turned to Kiku to talk about the PS3 he had acquired on the weekend.

* * *

Matilda and Antonio exited the meeting room together. It had been as productive as ever… meaning nothing was accomplished. "The school has a massive budget; you'd think they could afford to fix the gym." The Australian girl grumbled looping her arm around Antonio's so that she could lean on him while walking.

"Yes, but not enough to put in a pool," Toni countered with a smile. "Have you had lunch?"

"Yeah, I ate before the meeting, you?" She lied and the Spaniard frowned.

"Matilda," he almost whined. "When Al's not here I'm on duty."

"I told you, I ate before," she snapped then immediately felt guilty. "Sorry," Tilly whispered after a minute of awkward silence.

"It's fine," the Australian was pulled into a hug by the Spanish boy who showed no shame in displaying public affection. "Please, just eat something before class." She pulled a face which melted when he continued. "Al worries about you."

"Alright," she agreed feeling her friend's fingers stroke her hair and his hand run gently up and down her back in a soothing fashion. "Thanks Toni," she pulled away.

"Any time."

"Do you have a study now?" Matilda asked heading in the direction of her French class room.

"Yes, Mr Vargas is tutoring me." He told her.

"Mate, with the amount of time you spend in tutoring, you should be a genius." A lump formed in the Spaniard's throat preventing him from speaking for a moment.

"Well, he spends a lot of time yelling at me." He regained composure. The hall was filled with chattering teens who were being ushered to class by angry teachers. Toni and Matilda parted with a quick hug and exchange of their usual snippy remarks.

As they parted Toni subconsciously crossed his fingers, a habit he'd picked up in his childhood. He hoped that Matilda would eat because he knew he couldn't force her to do so; nor could he face Al if he didn't. Her situation seemed impossible and there was nothing he could do.

* * *

Okay! I have a direction now... I actually started this thinking 'hey, I want to write a USUK AU fic' which was not a good idea because I had no where to go from there. I'm pretty sure I know how it's going to pan out... Lots of pairings, I mean if you read into it everyone is kind of with everyone... But don't worry, in the end you'll all get your USUK :) pinky swear!

Also, I'm going to apologise in advance for this because it may be about two weeks before I can post again... I have my first exam this week and I'm pretty scared because I'm positive that 80 percent of the task is understanding the question... Once I have that I'm sweet! It's for my finals (I'm in yr 12 for those that don't know) so unfortunately it's one of the few things that rank above fanfiction in my life.

Australian slang that you guys possibly won't know… But you might…

*Dag: goof

*Arvo: afternoon


	5. This is really annoying

Hey, thanks for the wait! It's holidays for me now so I'll try to be more frequent!

So, Nerro has been really busy with NaNoWriMo and we both have a tone of work so this chapter isn't betad unfortunately. I'm positive she could have done it but we both need a bit of time to relax and I'm not sure if the first thing she wants to do on her holidays is beta my fanfic.

Thank you again to: IchigoMelon, ZemyxDexion, ManiacalDolphins, Tomoji-kun (x4!), Randomanime465 and mya3dan. - You guys are all awesome!

Not much to report... So, please enjoy.

* * *

As Antonio made his way towards Lovino's classroom he passed Francis and Jean who were talking as pleasantly as they always did. The French boy and the Spaniard had been friends since dawn began and therefore knew everything about each other. The manner that Francis spoke to Jean with was flirtatious, as he was with everyone, but carried a brotherly air. He knew that she was going to return to France in a months time and therefore refused to let love become an item in their relationship. No, Francis didn't love Jean…. But he was in love.

In the same way that Toni knew about his childhood friend's affairs, the French boy was the only one aware of the secret romance between Antonio and Lovino. Alfred often made fun of the brunet for being tutored daily while managing to fail most classes. Despite his 'useless' tendencies, Lovino was respected for his abilities to teach anyone almost anything. Al fathomed that Antonio's stupidity dominated the Italian's genius and succinct teaching methods… He could never have imagined the lack of 'learning' that occurred in the environment.

"Hey Lovi," Toni opened the door to the classroom with a grin.

"Don't call me that tomato brain." The teacher spat, slamming onto the table the same Italian magazine he had been reading in his history class. "I should put you on detention."

Antonio laughed, "Do you want to spend even more time with me?"

"What?"

"Well, that's what will happen if you put me on detention. You supervi-"

"Are you going to be annoying or are you going away?" The Italian man frowned as his pupil approached him with a lazy smile. He should consider trade marking that smile, it defined him.

"Lovino," he cooed lovingly then leant down and cupped his lover's face in his hands. He lowered his forehead to the teacher's then gently tipped his head up so that their lips met.

After a brief moment of soft, feathery kissing Lovino pulled away. "You idiot, if someone comes in we'll get into trouble. Why don't you ever think about these things? Do you want me to get in trouble? You jerk!" Antonio responded with another smile and was now playing with his teacher's hair because he knew it was a turn on. The Italian gave him a look of disgust then relaxed and leant into the touch, "you're a pest." Toni sat on the teacher's desk then drew him into his lap without protest.

"I love you," he whispered into the man's ear who blushed. The Spaniard adored the classic reaction as his fair skin turned to a tomato red and was stained for minutes before he could recover.

"Shut up," Lovino murmured with a more exhausted tone instead of seductive then kissed his lover passionately. Their lips mashed together and Antonio's tongue glided across Lovino's lips. Toni twirled the oddly curled hair in his fingers while his other hand pressed against the back of his neck, drawing his closer yet. Lovino rested one hand on the desk for balance then mimicked Toni's hand, knotting it within the Spaniard's hair.

XXXXXXXX

Arthur was still grudgingly pulling out pieces of the American's lunch from his hair. It had stuck him as odd that the teen could eat such a large lunch while sporting a slim but fit figure. Although Al worked out, his junk food diet surely should counter the amount of exercise. As it turned out, he only ate about one third of the burger as the majority landed everywhere but in his mouth when he spoke. "Pig," Arthur grumbled despite having the boy next to him.

"Huh?"

"It's 'pardon' not 'huh', you git," he muttered irritably.

"What?"

"Nothing," he sighed. Arthur had no work to do at the moment and Alfred was reluctant to do any of his (no that he knew what it was since he never wrote down the exercises) so the two sat alone at the lunch table. "So, how did your brother end up in a wheel chair?" He asked almost too bluntly for his own taste.

Al's face darkened for half a second then he simply said, "It was a bad accident." The Brit recognised the expression as the one he'd seen when they were in the bathroom together but didn't surface his curiosity. "Sorry, I'm such a downer, let's change the subject!" He laughed obnoxiously.

"Alright, how long have you been dating Matilda?" He asked despite the knots of envy which tightened around his stomach.

"Uh, about two years I think." He said which Arthur thought sounded rather unromantic. Honestly, Alfred was hopeless if he couldn't remember such an important time frame. "She's a great girl."

"Yes," the Brit agreed because he hand to. "It's a shame to hear about her parents though."

"Oh, whoa! She told you about that?" Alfred asked mortified.

"About the ballet school, yes, why?"

"No reason; but listen man, her parents aren't bad people." Alfred rubbed the back of his neck and looked over his shoulder as he was unsure if it was safe to talk about her history. "It was a shitty situation."

"Hm? What happened?" Arthur asked curiously while doing up one of his flimsy jacket buttons. The wind was starting to pick up and he could already feel goose bumps forming on his arms.

The American grimaced, "It's not really my place to say." He told the Brit who was touched by the sensitivity Alfred recognised the topic contained and the mistrust he would form between Matilda and himself. "She lost it a bit over there but her parents couldn't see what was going on, it was totally messed up."

"You only met her two years ago, right?"

"No, we're childhood friends, why?"

"But she's only lived here for two years." He reasoned.

"Yeah, but my mum went to school with her dad, so we're family friends as well." He explained and Arthur shuddered earning a blank look. "Cold?"

"A little."

"Here," To the Brit's horror Al shrugged off his bomber jacket and threw it across the table so it landed on his head. "Wear it and quit shivering, it's distracting."

It would remain a mystery to Arthur why exactly it was distracting as he refused to comprehend the American's logic. "Really, I'm alright-" he stopped speaking after removing the offending item and his eyes spotted the teen's muscular arms. They'd been hidden from view beneath the jacket and left the blonde tongue tied due to their toned state. He wanted to be locked between those arms, touch them, him. Arthur had never lusted after anyone so quickly but Alfred F. Jones was quite the sight.

"Stop your whingeing and wear it." He said as more of a joke.

"I wasn't whingeing!" He snapped looking away. "Why don't we just move somewhere warmer?"

"Because I like this spot; just put on the jacket." Arthur knew he couldn't comply to the request for three reasons: one, he wouldn't surrender to American culture (it was a bloody bomber jacket!), two, it smelt like coffee but most importantly, he was NOT a girl from some corny chic flick and therefore couldn't reduce himself to such a feminine state.

"No thanks, I'll just go to the library," he said with a rude tone then chucked the jacket back at the American. He stood up only to be grabbed by the younger teen.

"Quit being lame." He said now quite literally forcing the Brit into the jacket.

"Alfred!" He shouted squirming, only to find his lustful wish had come true and he was in fact now stuck between the American's arms. Al managed to trap one of Arthur's arms to his side while pulling on his other one in a futile attempt to thread his wrist through the sleeve. "Let go! You wanker!"

"Just stop moving for a sec!"

"Get off me!" He jerked his arm away only to find that he had less upper body strength then he'd estimated in the first place. His heart was pounding and his face was red although he would blame it on the embarrassing situation he knew, of course, that it was because he could feel his back tightly pressed to the American's chest. "ALRIGHT!" He slid his hand up the bomber jacket sleeve and Alfred released him so he could adjust it. He felt rather pleased with himself.

"Warm?"

"Cosy."

"I thought the exercise would have gotten your blood pumping," he grinned. "I'm warm."

"Bloody fantastic for you." He said, bitter due to his defeat and the degrading situation he was in.

"So what are you doing this afternoon?" Alfred asked with his head in his hand.

"Probably unpacking." The astonishing thing in his answer was that the Brit couldn't see what was coming next.

"Dude! Let me help! I'm an awesome decorator!" The younger teen shouted enthusiastically and Arthur's stomach lurched.

"It's quite alright, I think I'd rather do it-"

"Come on!" And I can lift the heavy boxes for you! Face it dude, you have nothing on your arms."

"I beg to differ!" Arthur spat.

"I could totally snap them, I could feel them before, no-wait, I couldn't because there's nothing to feel." Before the Brit could retaliate the same puppy-dog face was staring at him in an adorable fashion. "Pwease! Let me help out!"

And so, despite the fact the two boys had only just met that morning, they found themselves on a forty minute bus ride across the city. It had started raining when the two left the school grounds which wasn't surprising because of the wind and cloud cover. Unfortunately, because of the rain the bus was full and the teens had to stand near the back doors.

This was a dreadfully awkward position for Arthur who was squished far too close for comfort into the American boy. What made it worse was the elderly man sitting near them whose face was near Arthur's bag. The grumpy man constantly pushed it away so that Brit was forced into the younger boy's torso. "Excuse me." He snapped the fourth time he was pushed however this just resulted in the man shouting in a foreign dialect at the two.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

"Listen buddy, if you have a problem you can move!" Alfred yelled in Arthur's defence. The strange man was now throwing his arms around hysterically and signalling for them to get off the bus. He was still shouting in a language that Arthur knew to be European of some sort. "Fine! Look! He's moving!" Arthur squeaked as he was pulled into an embrace then Al turned and trapped him against the vertical surface adjacent to the door and slipped his back pack onto one shoulder allowing the man plenty of room to grumble about youths these days. "You alright Artie?"

"Arthur," was the only reply he got, his face was nestled into Al's chest and it was far too comfortable. He could easily have looked up and not been in the position but this would result in his face being rather close to Alfred's. As people filed off the bus the two spread apart slightly although the Brit was reluctant to show his blushing face and the American was enjoying the warmth since Arthur still had his jacket.

Alfred sneezed over his friend's shoulder then shuddered; they had both gotten soaked while waiting for the bus since they'd forgotten an umbrella. "Alfred, here." He started to take off the jacket but Al pulled it back over his shoulder then slipped his arm around the Brit's waist, under his coat and up his back.

"Ahhh, you're warm." He sighed contentedly and Arthur blushed from ear to ear. He really had no shame, people (including the grumpy old man) were giving them looks of disgust which Alfred was oblivious to. Al leaned forward so that the Brit was now completely squashed against the wall. This was the last straw; Arthur pushed him back and hissed. "What the hell are you doing?" Then angrily took off the troubling article of clothing and slapped it into his chest.

"But Artie-"

"Call me that one more time-." He threatened menacingly, "stop being a git and put your bloody coat back on."

"That's so lame though! Totally unheroic." He whined. He wasn't holding onto anything due to being pushed away so when the bus came to a halt he lurched forward right into Arthur and broke his fall by slamming his arms either side of him. Arthur's heart was racing thinking that the boy would crush him but found that he was unharmed. "Are you okay, dude?"

"I'm fine, is your arm alright? That didn't sound very good."

"Yeah," he rubbed it grinning.

"This is my stop." Arthur pressed the button and the door opened. Alfred put his jacket on then turned away quickly and swiped the rude, foreign elderly man's umbrella from his green grocery bag without him noticing. "ALFRED!" Arthur shouted more concerned that the door would shut before he got out then the fact that his new friend had stolen an umbrella.

"Relax," he jumped out just as the door closed with a proud look. He put up the umbrella and the two walked side by side. It was surprisingly large and fit the two so that only the American's arm got wet.

"You shouldn't have taken this." Arthur said feeling almost guilty.

"That guy needs to cool off; the rain'll do him good." Al reasoned, Arthur noticed his friend's arm getting wet so he moved in closer. "So, do you slash did you have a girl friend?"

"No, not when I left." Of course, there had been a time when the blonde was rather popular and spent every night with someone new. It was quite the phase.

"I'll hook you up bro, what's your type?" Alfred grinned while shifting the umbrella to his outer hand and draping an arm around his neck. The Brit didn't bother to react, in this position neither of them were getting wet.

"I'm not interested; having a label is too high maintenance." He said arrogantly earning another laugh from the obnoxious boy. His body shook as if vibrating next to blonde who became irritated by the movement.

"Whatever man, you don't know what you're missing."

"To each his own." He shrugged despite the excess weight on his shoulder. "Are you really that happy?" He asked, not entirely convinced that love was attainable at this age if at all.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you wake up ever morning with no regrets, thinking: 'this will last forever', or some nonsense like that?" Arthur sounded bitter which caused Alfred to laugh again.

"Life's better with Tilly in it." He declared after a minute of hesitation. Arthur couldn't help but notice the grip he had around the umbrella tightened and his smile become almost forced.

* * *

Sorry if this was a bit cliffy; the next chapter is done so I'll type it up and try to have it out soon.

Oh, that bit with the old man on the bus... yeah, that happened to me last week. Creepy old guy kept pushing my bag until I told him to stop it then he started telling me off in some other language.

There's so much going on in this at the moment. I'm having trouble keeping my thoughts and back stories straight. Ugh... Is it just me, or has this day lasted a really long time? Oh well, I'll try to end (this day!) in the next chapter! Then we can have a time skip.

I want you guys to meet everyone early on... I'm going to be putting in Russia and everyone that's part of his little family thing he has going on... Also I want to put Switzerland and Li-le- well, his sister in it too.

Am I missing anyone?


	6. This is average

NERRO'S BACK! My beta has returned to proof read my failed spelling and confusing grammar! Thank you Nerro for betaing! I love you!

Thank you to: ZemyxDexion, Randomanime456, ilfreitas, Alexandra (btw, that's an awesome name), too tired for this, Hikaritears, Illsigninl8r, IchigoMelon, LovelyHikari, ChocolateFTW and Tomoji-kun! - you guys... you're all amazing!

* * *

"This is it." Arthur pointed to a white house which was two stories and had a large garden out front surrounded by a hedge of red roses. The architecture was Victorian and the door was vintage French, creating an air of wealth.

Alfred gave an appreciative whistle, "Nice, it totally suits you."

The Brit smiled slightly; a rare sight. He was happy with the design and size since he helped choose the house. "Careful Artie, your face might freeze like that."

"Sorry?"

"Then you'd be stuck smiling for the rest of your life," the smile evaporated and was soon replaced with a scowl, which told the American he was 'not amused'. He with drew a key impatiently and unlocked the door.

"Excuse the mess, my older brothers Scott and Peter won't be home yet," he said curtly then gave a few brisk strides into the house leaving Alfred to shut the door. The floor was made of light coloured, wooden planks, and the walls were robin egg blue*. The ceiling was white with a Celtic pattern around the brim. When the two reached the living room Alfred gaped. There had to be twenty or more boxes arranged around furniture.

"Jesus."

"Yes, well, it's a lot of work settling in; the furniture arrived before we did," Arthur felt somewhat offended, for he took great pride in being an organised individual. "Scott! I'm home!"

"'Bout time Arthur, it takes yer ferever ta get home!" his older brother shouted from the top of the stairs.

"I've brought a… friend," he looked at Alfred to confirm that the term 'friend' was correct. It wasn't.

"Already? Jeez, you werk fast. I thought yer weren't into that anymore," Scott slid down the painted white banister and landed neatly on his two feet.

"Not like that," Arthur groaned, knowing that his situation was being misinterpreted.

"Run while you can lass, he's no good fer ya," Scott warned Alfred, who was still unable to comprehend what their conversation was about. His older brother had always been fair and warned Arthur's 'one night stands' that he wasn't a good person which ultimately caused tension between him and his companion.

Scott had untameable red hair, an inherited trait which also passed on to Arthur and Peter as well as a fair complexion. However; Scott was prone to burning despite the fact that he'd lived in cloudy London most of his life. He also had a Scottish accent due to his boarding in Edinburgh.

"I'm Scott," he acknowledged Alfred properly.

"Alfred," was the reply, still trying to grasp the situation, "Nice to meet you."

"Right, we're going up to my room," he told his brother, who gave him a dark look when he started up the stairs.

"Ar-"

"Oh! Bloody hell! He's a friend! He has a girlfriend!" the Brit shouted, and suddenly everything clicked for Alfred. He snapped his fingers at Arthur.

"You're gay?" He asked.

"Ya couldn't tell by the tea and scones?" Scott asked and his younger brother shot him a piercing glare, "Speaking of which, would ya like a cup, Mr Sunshine?"

"Yes, Alfred?"

"No thank you," he couldn't contain a look of disgust when turning down the drink.

"I don't blame ya lad," Scott laughed, "But Sunshine here is store dug* without it." He placed a large hand on Alfred's shoulder and beamed at him. This was Arthur's first friend in America… in fact; this was Arthur's first fr-.

"Do you have coffee?" Alfred rudely interrupted the red head's train of thought.

"Aye lad, how do ya like it?"

"Black, thanks man. Do you want help?"

"No, the two of you'd better dry off befer you go 'n catch yerselves a cold," he said dismissively then made his way to the kitchen. The two retreated to Arthur's room. It was bare, save for a bed, desk, and pile of boxes.

"Hang on," the Blonde jogged down the hall and Alfred placed his bag on the ground and went to the window. There was a tree outside of it. He thought that if he was five years younger (and forty pounds lighter) he would have tried to climb it. It was still raining outside which caused the American to involuntarily shudder. Arthur returned with two towels and threw one over to Al, who caught it easily, unfolded it and ran it over his hair.

"Thanks," he said, drying his arms then moving back to his head.

"Don't mention it," he sat on his bed.

"Hey Artie, you should've told me you swung that way, I know plenty of guys that tap that," Arthur gave him a horrified look then turned away, farther then necessary, to dry his arm.

"I said I wasn't interested," he frowned at the floor, "You don't mind, do you?" It seemed silly to ask, but he had to get a straight answer from him.

"Nah, Kiku's gay, Toni's bi, Francis is well…Francis…I think Jean's bi," Alfred listed thoughtfully and Arthur looked at him with a more genuine smile, "Hell, even I'm not totally straight. Toni and I went out for a week."

The English boy's heart skipped a beat at this but he kept his expression hidden by drying his face. "America's quite different, isn't it?" he thought aloud.

"It's the best place on Earth. Better then stuffy old England for ya?"

"Well, I just don't recall anyone being open about this sort of thing with me," he thought with a stoic look then his eyes darted to the side while his head remained facing the wall, "England's better," then he moved the cloth so that it wrapped around his mouth. He muttered inaudibly, "But, I do like it here."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," he denied quickly then stood up and pulled a stanley knife from his desk, "Let's get started then, that is why you're here after all."

"You bet your pasty, British ass!" he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "Tell me what to do."

The two set to work and spent over an hour unpacking boxes; it took longer then it should have because Scott came up with their drinks and Al fawned over his accent. Then, he discovered Arthur's guitar and insisted that he play 'Yellow Submarine' by the Beatles. He was currently rummaging through Arthur's clothing despite the Brit politely asking him not to. He suddenly let out a hysteric laugh and pulled out leather pants with a matching studded jacket.

"Dude! Put this on!" he held out the clothing which looked far too punk for our British gentleman.

"My God, those don't even fit anymore."

"Pweeeaasseeee-!"

"No! That has worked twice already! Give me those!" he snatched them and roughly thrusted them into the back of his sliding closet. Alfred grimaced seeing the Brit's expression flash to anger so quickly.

"You suck," he said, despite the fact that Arthur was genuinely pissed off. He continued to rummage through the box until he found yet another strange article of clothing, "Is this what I think it is?" The American held up a uniform that deserved to be in a museum – a British military uniform from the late eighteenth century.

"That's an heirloom," he stated irately, "Please stop touching it, it's-."

"I have one too! Well, it's my dad's, and it's blue but-."

"An American uniform? Really?" Arthur's historical obsession got the best of him and before he could stop himself, so he let his curiosity slip, "Could I see it?"

He hadn't realised he'd been cornered until Alfred grinned, "Sure, Saturday." Arthur's heart plummeted through the floor boards and his face displayed it quite profoundly, "Don't forget, my house at twelve. I wrote my address in your Society and Culture book."

"But, we hadn't planned it then- oh, never mind," the older boy grumbled.

The door to Arthur's room opened quietly and a young boy, thirteen at most, stood eating a lollipop and carrying a stack of Harry Potter books. "These are yours," He said placing them neatly but randomly in the doorway.

"Peter, this is my new friend Alfred."

"Hi Peter!" Alfred said enthusiastically.

Peter looked the tall boy up and down as if evaluating him for suitability, "Already Arthur? You don't take long to-."

"Peter, shut it before I cook you custom meals for the rest of the week," the pre-teen stood in thought for a moment, then slammed the door. There was a beat of silence then it opened again.

"Nice meeting you." Slam.

This was the second time Alfred had been mistaken for one of the Brit's flings so he decided he'd try addressing the issue, "Uhhhh, Artie… it might not be my place to ask but-."

"It's none of your business so don't," Arthur snapped, while carrying the stack of books to place above his desk on a book shelf, "I didn't have the best reputation in England." He started to compose himself when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"You don't have to tell me, it's alright," Al gave him a knowing smile, "Life's shit, we just got to make the best of it."

"We just have to make the best of it," he accentuated the 'have'.

"That's my optimistic Artie!"

"I'm not even going to respond to that," he rolled his eyes, but couldn't help letting a smile tug on the corner of his lips, which threatened to explode with the relief and joy of finally having met such an understanding person.

"I should probably get going, I promised to help Mattie with his chemistry work," the threatening smile vanished. Arthur had come to enjoy Alfred's company; it made the job easier and much more amusing.

"I'll ask Scott to drive you."

"I can take the bus if you-."

"It can't be helped since it's raining," Arthur said then turned away, blushing and ready to degrade himself, "After all, you've helped a lot today. Thank you."

"Shucks dude, you're making me blush," he joked, and accepted the glare with a laugh.

"Shut up!" he shouted; the colour that stained his cheeks unfading, "I'm getting Scott!" Arthur shut the door moodily. The American chuckled then started sorting through the last box until he came to a piece of paper written in cursive script. The first thing he noticed was that it was signed by Arthur's mother. He knew it was wrong, but curiosity got the better of him and he read it.

_Artie,_

_Don't misunderstand. I'm writing this because I have to and not because I want to. Still, I'd like to know how you boys are doing since Scott doesn't speak to your father and I and Peter is awful at replying. The conditions in jail are bad. Promise me you won't end up here like us. I bet you're thinking that we deserve it. It's not my fault that your life is the way it is, by the way, so don't go blaming me._

_Make something of yourself, love. Don't be influenced by us. Our lives are over._

_How's school? Do people still call you mean names? My poor baby. Mummy wishes she could help. When we get out of here I'll chase away all those bullies like I did the monsters from your cradle. Hang in there._

_Give Pete a kiss for me and tell Scott I've knitted him a scarf which I'll send at Christmas. Stay my little angel._

_Love, your mother._

The first thing that Alfred noticed was the patronising tone that was present in the letter, which confused him. At points he could see traces of humanity, and was forced to think that maybe, she cared… but the underlying tone was sarcastic and free of emotional attachment. One thing was certain though: Arthur's parents were in jail and it had greatly impacted his life in England.

* * *

*Robin egg blue: my favourite colour blue; it's so pretty, look it up!

*Store dug: sluggish/lazy (I have a list of Scottish slang now…)

* * *

Haha, this sounds so much better betad... Thanks again Nerro!

I'm happy where this is going although I still need to do a lot of planning. Next chapter the drama begins ;)

Reviews please!


	7. This can't be right

So, here's where the drama begins...

This chapter was late just because last week was Christmas so I've been busy with family and friends. I know this is late but I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year! :D

Thank you to: xxalexisurgodxx, TheWonderBunny (x6!), IchigoMelon, Scorpling, Randomanime456, Hikaritears, ZemyxDexion, Kinklife and LovelyHikari

* * *

Kiku withdrew the key that Heracles had given him and slid it into the door knob key hole. He thought this was more considerate than knocking as the Greek man often took evening naps. Kiku had been given the key after an awkward incident where he'd knocked then waited for two hours assuming the teacher was still at work and not inside dozing on his sofa. Heracles had come out to collect the mail only to discover the Japanese boy lying against the wall fast asleep. So as not to repeat this Kiku was given his own set of house keys which he treasured.

Heracles lived in a block of neat, little apartments occupied mainly by young bachelors. Many of his neighbours knew Kiku as the shy boy that was failing maths and often came by for tutoring. The Asian boy placed his umbrella on the counter next to a bento box he had prepared in case Heracles had forgotten to eat again. The interior was tidy. An open kitchen at the front of the house and the living room adjacent where a plasma screen T.V was set up. There was a coffee table and couches surrounding it but no feature stood out as odd. A world map was placed up on the corridor wall next to a picture painted by the maths teacher of Helen of Troy.

"Heracles," he called gently then walked over to the familiar bedroom and opened the door without hesitation. Suddenly, he was being strangled by air and his heart moved as fast as his legs wished they could. Heracles was in his bed with the teen's economics teacher, Sadiq Annan, who lay over him nipping at his neck.

The blue sheets were tangled, threaded through their legs and both men were shirtless. The second they heard the click of the door Sadiq turned to greet the intruder while Heracles turned away. "Honda!" The Turkish man shouted surprised.

Heracles squeezed his eyes shut in obvious agony. "Heracles-?" Kiku choked on the name of his former lover then covered his mouth with a fist begging silently for a moment that the man would make eye contact with him. When an explanation refused to come he darted from the bedroom. His heart ached. It hurt so much. Tears fell from the corners of his eyes so he was blinded by blurred anguish. He'd run out, leaving the door open and left his umbrella on the counter.

The Japanese boy lacked in body strength so he collapsed after reaching the main streets as if the weight in his chest was too heavy for him to support. He sobbed against the wall of a children's toy store, not caring that people could see him or that he was soaking wet. He curled into a ball against the surface and cried.

He had no idea how long it had been since he'd reached this place and not a single stranger had extended their hand to help him. "Kiku?" Came a startled voice and the rain disappeared from over his head. He recognised the voice of his childhood friend but was unable to acknowledge Yao. "Kiku! Are you alright-aru?" He bent over his old friend and pulled him close into his collar bone while giving him hysterical shakes.

Kiku shuddered then grabbed at the front of his shirt and rested his forehead on Yao's shoulder. He was silent for a minute, allowing the sound of rain hitting the flooded earth to fill the silence. He'd been betrayed by this boy and he knew it. However; at this moment he needed someone close to him. "Why don't you come to my house tonight-aru?"

His legs moved without permission as he dragged himself over to the other teen's house. Yao supported him with an arm getting wet in the process. When they arrived at the small but lively house Kiku was taken to Yao's room where he was given a towel and ushered into the bathroom. "I don't want you taking care of me!" He suddenly shouted and Yao looked hurt then composed himself.

"I'm sor-."

"No!" He started blubbering, whipping away the fast falling tears with his palm. "I don't want an apology! Stop caring about me! I thought you stopped!" He cried.

"I'm not going to fight you now because you're upset-aru." The Chinese boy said in an empowered tone. "But I wasn't the only one that ruined this friendship!" Kiku froze, his lips trembling then he covered his face with both hand in a state of utter despair. "I'm sorry Kiku."

"What if it never happened? If I didn't- if you-?" He peaked through two parted fingers to look at Yao who was upset as well. "Can we just pretend that-?" He stopped then turned to face the floor in agony once more.

"Kiku, you're tired and you're wet-aru. Please have a bath."

"…with me."

"Hm?" Yao leaned closer to hear the muffled request.

"Please have a bath with me."

The taller boy was surprised by the request. "Really?"

"It's normal in Japan." Kiku gave a bitter chuckle. "I think I want to talk to you about it." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I need to talk about it."

Yaofelt as though he had no choice but to comply since in all his life of knowing Kiku he never really opened up his emotions to anyone. "Alright." He placed his hands on the frail boy's shoulders. He looked so delicate in this state as if he were made of a fragile glass that would shatter if he was harsh. "Let's go-aru."

The two bathed in the large, spa like baths that was constructed into the floor and therefore tiled. In the water the Japanese boy felt his strength returning. They spoke for then or more minutes about the house they were in as they'd shared many memories here then Kiku went quiet when his thoughts strayed back to Heracles. He recounted the story, admitting that he'd never left Heracles since Yao had caught them together and telling him about his economics teacher. Yao listened carefully, the awkward state they were in forgotten when he became absorbed in the story.

They sat opposite each other with the jet spa generating bubbles and filling the silence at the end. "So you stayed with him all this time?"

"Hai."

"He seemed like a jerk to me-aru." The Chinese boy said naturally then his tone darkened. "When I saw the two of you that day, I knew he was bad news but to do 'that' to a student. He's cruel." Yao sounded disgusted. "The worst-."

"It was my fault." Kiku admitted softly. "Everything," his soft voice was shaking as he brought his hands over his face again. "It's all my fault."

_Class had just ended and Kiku was packing up his teaching equipment when the door shut and the last student exited the room. The loud noise caused the Greek man to stir and lift his head, locking gazes with Kiku for the first time. He sat up and stretched yawning. "You're the boy that takes over my classes?" He asked lazily._

_Kiku shuffled nervously on the spot and nodded; unsure if he would be scolded for taking the class. "Yes."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Nani?" He blurted out in his first language then shook his head and scrunched his eyes closed mentally scolding himself. "What?"_

"_I haven't been sleeping at home because I fight a lot with my boyfriend," he said nodding off to sleep again; he came to his sense and turned saying. "uh, I shouldn't have said that- sorry."_

"_No, I understand, please rest." Kiku said in an almost endearing tone. "I hope you resolve the difficulties with your partner." He sounded respectful now._

"_We split up, but I appreciate it." He smiled over at the boy who became mesmerised by the face of his teacher which he'd never seen move. His olive skin, green eyes and dark hair suited him perfectly. He was only twenty-five which made him very popular despite the neglect he showed towards his job. "Your hair is nice." He said absent minded and standing._

_Kiku blushed, embarrassed when he placed a hand on top of the boy's head. His eyes were glazed over as if he were sleepwalking or at the very least delirious._

"_It's soft." He threaded his fingers through it and slid them down, tugging gently then allowing his eyes to shut as he stumbled only to catch himself by resting a hand on the desk. The Japanese boy steadied him and guided him into a sitting position. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" He ran a hand down his troubled face feeling faint._

_As it turned out, Heracles had gone two nights straight without sleeping and this month had been particularly difficult. He shuddered, retaining a sob then pressed his index finger and thumb to the brink of his nose, trying not to let his exhaustion stimulate his emotions. "You can go, Kiku."_

_It came as a surprise to the Asian boy that his teacher knew his name resulting in him smiling with pleasure and pride. "If you'll let me, I'll stay." He pulled a chair up into the teacher's desk and gestured with his hand. "Please sleep." He hoped that by staying the Greek man would sleep easily and not think about his troubling relationship. Heracles took Kiku's hand in a daze then gave him a sleepy smile and shut his eyes, lying on the desk with a folded arm supporting his head._

_He always took Kiku's hand when they slept together as if he needed assurance that their connection was real. While they lay in bed he would often stroke the teen's hand as if to comfort him when in reality it was self assurance._

_There was something magnetic about the touch which drew Kiku to him. He smiled warmly feeling the connection then slid his hand out and pulled his English Homework for his bag. He stayed until seven thirty often distracted and watching the man sleep then scolding himself for it. At this time he had to wake Heracles before the school was locked down._

_From that day and for two moths onward their relationship developed into a dependent friendship where they constantly sought comfort in each other's presence. They both knew the impact they had on one another and the inevitable dissolution of their relationship. Heracles had made the first move. He had kissed Kiku before school break and started the taboo. _

Yaostood up pulling Kiku from the reverie he'd become tangled in. "I'll prepare your bed; you can stay in here if you'd like-aru." Kiku didn't want to be left alone for two reasons: he wanted to forget about Heracles and he wanted to mend his broken friendship with Yao. However; he accepted the offer as the Chinese boy was already walking away with a towel tied tightly around his waist.

The Japanese boy sniffed but the sound was drowned out by the jet spa which then muffled his choked sobs. After five minutes of wallowing in self pity, he stood up and dried himself off completely then ventured out into the familiar bedroom wearing just a towel. The room was small and covered in Kanji and Chinese art. There was a desk squished into the corner opposite the door and two mattresses adjacent, covering the floor completely. "Is Ivan good to you?" He asked earning a jump for the older teen who failed to notice his presence while he placed sheets on the bed.

"As always." Yao replied dismissively.

"Then I'm happy for you." He lay down on the mat despite his hair being wet. He looked up at the light and allowed black dots to dance across his vision. "Thank you."

"It's alright, I'm just glad you're feeling better-aru." Yao wrinkled his nose, cringing at their formal conversation then sighed. "We used to be so close." He muttered sadly while smoothing out the sheets.

"Mmm…" The Japanese boy agreed and brought his arm across his eyes. "What happened to us?"

Scott whistled cheerfully walking to the garage while Arthur and Alfred were silent in their descent. The American straightened his back and grinned. "This was fun, thanks for having me."

"Anytime Al," The red head said merrily.

Alfred looked to Arthur expectantly who gave him a malicious smirk causing the American to pout as he was unable to decipher the meaning in the expression. "Sure."

"Geez Arthur, don't miss me too much." He teased while head locking the secretly melancholy boy then messing up his hair. Arthur squirmed trying to pry his arm from around his neck.

"Get off!" Scott turned and laughed heartily before he flicked on the lights and spun the car keys around his fingers. "Alfred!"

The American laughed finding amusement in watching the Brit squirm but looked up when a refracted glint flew into his vision. A green motor bike sat in the corner with a matching helmet. "Dude!" He quickly released Arthur who rubbed his neck, sulking at the red marks forming. "Scott, is this yours?" Al examined the bike as if it were a magical creature; he was shocked yet giddy.

"No, that'd be Arthur's."

"Artie's?" Alfred shouted at the blonde boy who cringed while making eye contact with his older brother. Scott looked troubled for a moment, his forehead creased and eyes narrowed but he turned away to hide it.

Arthur had a look of fury on his face which Alfred hadn't seen, it frightened it somewhat but he laughed it off anyway. "What did I do?"

"Don't call me Artie!" He snapped forcefully and Scott made a face complimenting the silent groan he repressed. He unlocked the Toyota and ushered Alfred in.

"Alright, alright, someone's grumpy." He observed still looking at the bike while climbing in next to the English boy who decided to sit in the back to be polite. Alfred beamed at him. "You're so cool, man! Where have you been all my life?"

"England." Arthur relaxed knowing that Alfred was unaware of the true hatred he held for the nick name and not just because of it's absurd abbreviation. It hadn't troubled him much until Scott had heard it and gave him 'that' look.

"Well, say goodbye to England for a while because there's no way you're leaving until I get to ride that!" He pointed enthusiastically at the bike while Scott reversed.

"Good riddance." He muttered and Scott smiled from the front seat. The ride home was short as Alfred lived notably close to the Brit. Arthur walked the American to the door claiming he wanted a word with him when it was really his gentleman instincts kicking in. He shuffled his feet nervously but passed it off as being cold. "So, s'up?"

"I-well- wanted to see the uniform now actually." He lied quickly and shyly while avoiding eye contact.

"You can't now, Saturday." He insisted but Arthur didn't ask why since this wasn't his real reason. "See you tomorrow." He bent down and hugged the Brit who clapped him twice in a frigid hug. The younger teen laughed at this making Arthur's heart rate increase and scowl because of it.

"Get off, you sod." He pushed Alfred back who smiled fondly and opened the door. "Good night." Arthur said bluntly and turned away, stalking back to the car.

* * *

Yay! This was about 600 words longer than usual; maybe this makes up for lateness? I'm actually a little bit stuck on the next chapter but hope to have it done by this time next week.

Thank you all for your support and just know that this will have a happy ending, so don't hate me yet pwease! And if you do, submit it in writing... I like reviews :)

Once again, Happy New Year!


	8. The thing about this is

This was really hard to get out this week because I've been busy (I won't bore you with what) but it's my longest chapter yet! Introducing Lili and Vash, two of my favourite characters! And sorry, I rushed this (unbetad because I didn't want you to have to wait) and am about to get on an airplane...

Enjoy!

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The week past slowly as every class with Alfred seemed to last an eternity and occasionally land them both in a mess of trouble. He'd managed to become good friends with Antonio and Matilda fairly quickly while Jean was slow to warm up to him. Tilly often sat with Jean and a few other girlfriends away from the group but if she was walking with Francis or Antonio when lunch came about she would spend her time with the boys.

Kiku had yet to return to school even by Friday which struck the year group as odd since he took pride in having perfect attendance. Even more peculiar then Kiku's disappearance was Mr Karpusi's sudden inspiration to resume teaching the math class. Arthur found that math was a lot more detestable.

Alfred, Toni and Tilly had gone over to Kiku's on Thursday to discover that he was staying at a friends that the Japanese boy's grandmother couldn't articulate the name of. Yao had missed two days of school in attempt to rekindle their friendship and to comfort the boy. It became easy for them to talk together but the persistent betrayal felt by both of them became a major barrier and source of inner conflict when confiding in each other.

On Friday Arthur was walking from history with Francis and Alfred who were bickering as usual. His shoulder brushed against a grumpy looking foreigner with blonde hair and green eyes. "Watch it!" He snapped and the young girl beside him cringed in an adorable fashion.

"Uh," Arthur was taken back by the unfriendly manner the boy used. "Sorry?" He sounded unsure when speaking to him.

The Swiss teen glared at him, evaluating him as if determining if he was a threat or competition. "Don't get in my way."

He took a step away with the young girl in tow behind him. As they started to leave she looked back over her shoulder and gave an apologetic look then was dragged along by the boy who held her hand protectively.

"Yo, Vash!" Alfred shouted and Arthur felt the world stop turning. "Don't take your anger out on Arthur, you psycho."

At this Vash snapped and despite the heavily occupied corridor he yelled in defense. "Get bent!"

"Get laid." Al countered and the Brit slapped his face at the crude come back while Francis chortled in agreement. "You need it!" There was a chorus of 'oohs' from their steadily forming audience.

"I can 'elp wiz zat." Francis's eyes licked over the Swiss teen's body. Vash gave a ferocious but wildly misdirected glare in Arthur's direction then stalked away. His sister looking down as if ashamed by his actions.

"You have absolutely no tact do you. You're like a child." The British teen scolded the American.

"That's Vash and Lili Zwingli, don't mess with them." Alfred warned his friend with a dark tone to which Arthur stared back miraculously since he had just witnessed provocation. "Vash is a freak and his sister's wrapped around his finger. Their rents are dead and the dude works all the time because his adopted rents pay for squat." He grinned a thousand watt smile as if he were telling a child a fairytale.

"Alfred, that's cruel." He replied in a pitying tone.

"No, he's friends with Ivan Braginski?" The American scoffed mercilessly.

"Who?"

"Oh, do don't get 'im started mon ami." Francis groaned.

"Shut up," Al gave the French boy a sharp nudge then they started walking towards their table under the magnolia tree. "He's the school's biggest asshole. He's a jerk and Vash is one of his tools. I mean, you think Vash is bad… Don't even look at Braginski." Al sounded aggressive adding bite to his accusations.

"What did he do to you?" Arthur asked; he deduced that the spite held by Alfred meant that they must have had some previous relations.

"Arthur," Francis laughed pulling the Brit into a tight hug from behind and grinding his hips slightly into his not-quite friend. "What are your plans for ze weekend? You would like to stay at mine, non?" He steered to conversation from Ivan which was blatantly obvious to the shorter boy who started struggling immediately.

"Get off!"

Alfred had grit his teeth unable to suppress hatred but was thrown back into reality when he saw the physical contact between his friends. "Don't touch him!" The youngest teen pried his hands from around the Brit's wait and held them firmly out so that the two made a ring around Arthur. "Since I'm such an awesome hero, I'll protect you." He winked.

Arthur ducked quickly under their arms and stood to the side watching the two who seemed to be having a staring contest. Suddenly Francis smirked. "You are 'olding onto my 'and very tightly, mon amour, may I take zis as an invitation?"

With a look of horror then disgust Alfred threw the older boy's hands either side of him and whipped the 'cooties' childishly onto his pants. "For God's sake, can we just eat?" Was lunch time always this ridiculous? "And by the way Alfred, not to dampen your spirits, but I don't believe in heroes."

Alfred just blinked twice. "Oh, okay." Was all the reply he got then suddenly he was staring at that infamous grin, "I'll just have to make you believe then."

The tense atmosphere had completely evaporated as the group chatted at their usual spot making fun of teachers then filling Arthur in on who they were. Arthur had been asked out three times this week but had declined every invitation pathetically lusting over his newest American friend.

Admittedly, he'd hardly spoken to Gilbert whose enthusiasm often stunned him but ensured that he made plenty of time to get to know both Tilly and Antonio who were the most sensible of the group. That lunch he chatted with Gilbert for the first time who immediately made a self proclamation, "I will warn you now, my awesomeness may be too much for you." And therefore quickly ended what could have been a blossoming friendship.

After school on Friday he'd gone home to an empty house only to be joined an hour later by Peter. Their relationship was strained but not so torn that they couldn't act civilly around each other or claim that there was no love between them. Peter often referred to the Brit as a 'jerk' but this was an unusual term of endearment as opposed to an abusive accusation. They loved each other; however, Peter harboured resentment towards the former delinquent. He wasn't the sort to forgive and forget.

Alfred had come over that night unannounced and was greeted by a newly painted door being slammed roughly in his face followed by a plastic flower pot falling from the ledge above him and landing ever so graciously on his head. Arthur had eventually let him in and allowed the American to clean himself up while gripping about the mud on his 'freshly vacuumed carpet'. He spoke with Scott for half an hour or so after Arthur insisted he should 'leave his house and allow him to study in peace'. Instead he found himself grumbling in his room.

"Stupid American." He rested his forehead lazily on the table; after the arduous week which tested every nerve he knew of he was bloody exhausted.

-Dreaming-

"_No! Mum!" A seven-year-old Peter screamed from next to his brother. There were lights flashing in his face and people shouting at him. Arthur held his brother tightly as if to protect him and hide his own anxiety that came with the crowd. How he hated crowds. He restrained his brother which Scott shouted at the reporters, "no comment!" He was grabbed at ruthlessly by a sea of hands but Scott dragged him from it and led him to the car outside their house. People were shouting, accusing him of things he didn't do and asking him questions he couldn't answer. He was shoved into the car by his agitated brother who had just returned from work then the door slammed and they sped towards the station._

_Scott pulled Arthur in roughly and kissed his forehead then started apologising repeatedly. "I thought I could save you, I'm sorry. It will be okay now though, I promise; please, just don't hate me for this." That's right, Scott had handed his parents' names to the police. It was his fault. All his fault. He felt raw anger stir within him but he couldn't speak because Scott started to sing._

"_How did we ever go this far, you touch my hand and start the car, and for the first time in my life, I'm crying." He sang in a voice so gentle and distant that Arthur almost couldn't hear the lyrics. "Are we in space? Do we belong? Some place that no one calls it wrong, and like the stars we burn away the miles.*"_

_Arthur turned to where his mother sat looking out the window. She was there now in place of Peter but as it was a dream this remained rational. She turned to him with her warm, green eyes and kind smile. "Baby, I'll be home soon." She cupped his face and wiped away the tears that were all too real. She hushed him then leant over so that her shoulder length hair that was the same shade as Arthur's fell like curtains over his head and blinded him. "Mommy loves you baby."_

_The teen rested in her embrace which was familiar and safe to him. She stroked his hair affectionately and repeated twice. "You're the best son in the world, and I'll take you with me." Suddenly, there was an ephemeral light which turned his world into a greyscale image as his stomach lurched and he was thrown forward._

…_._

Alfred sat next to Peter after he volunteered to help him with his homework. "You like science a lot, don't you Al?"

"Sure do."

"And you like Arthur a lot too?"

"Yup."

"Weirdo." He muttered under his breath while furrowing his eyebrows. The pre-teen nibbled thoughtfully on the back of his black fountain pen. Leave it to Arthur to own a pencil case full of them. "So, are you his boyfriend?"

"No, why?" Alfred quirked an eyebrow at the young boy.

"Well, you like him; and it's pretty damn obvious that he likes you." The boy was scribbling down answers furiously while the American attempted to absorb the different meanings to which he could interpret 'like'. He was friends with Arthur, sure, he was cute and if he wasn't tied down or was younger then he wouldn't have hesitated to make a move. However; life was much more complicated than it was two years ago. And wait… didn't Arthur kind of hate him?

"What do you mean by like?"

"Well, he talks about you a lot and he has a-."

"Peter," Scott slammed a hand urgently over the boy's mouth from behind the leather sofa in the living room. The boxes had been sorted and the room looked fresh. The two leather couches were arranged facing a standard sized television set which sat on a mahogany table in between a set of bookshelves which were practically empty. There was a map of Europe which hung over the white mantle piece framing a fireplace.

"Go make us some tea, or, coffee?"

"Thanks."

"No problem, 'n' be sure to make a cup fer yer brother also." Scott appeared to be more an authoritative father figure than a sibling. He easily took charge in the house hold and the young boy showed him mutual respect by flipping him off and sauntering into the kitchen.

"Sorry 'bout that one."

"That's cool man, don't worry."

Scott drummed his fingers on the top of the sofa while pressing his lips together thoughtfully then sat down. "Alfred," he sighed softly, unsure of quite how to approach the subject but finding this to be the best time to do so. He hunched over his knees and exhaled as if troubled by the subject while Al waited patiently. "Arthur was… popular, fer a long while and fer God only know what reasons. I think it's do the lad some good to have someone that was just a friend fer a while without any pressures."

By some incredible feat the American was able to decipher what the European boy was saying and replied hastily. "Like I said the other day, I do have a girlfriend. I'm not really interested-."

"Well then, maybe it's just an American habit to blush when he makes eye contact with his friend." He said in a blunt and cynical tone that alone could prove that he was Arthur's brother. "Listen Al," the blonde boy shifted nervously unsure of how to respond to the accusation while remaining respectful. "I don't know yer situation and I'd be a damn fool if I pretended I did. But, speaking from experience, you wouldn't be here now if you were in a happy relationship."

"Look, I don't mean to be rude but this is none of your business. I love my girlfriend and your brother is a great friend." He sounded defensive as he fought from the corner Scott had trapped him in. "I'm just trying to get to know him 'cause he's a cool guy."

Scott stared meaningfully at Alfred who was unable to read the gaze then he apologised. "I know Al, and I'm sorry. I just don't want to see the kid hurt again. England was rough on him and he's not over it. I'm sorry if I seem like a dad intimidating his daughter's boyfriend or whatever, but, what I'm asking is that you just be a friend. Support the lad and don't give him the impression that you mean anything more."

"I don't."

It was apparent by Scott's sceptical face that he was unconvinced but he held the boy to his word. "Well, then head up to Arthur's room. The *dobber'll deny it if you ask; but he enjoys the company."

"Alright," he flashed the oldest brother a quick grin that immediately mended any tensions between them. He collected the two cups from Peter which were filled almost to the brim. He proceeded up the stairs, careful not to wreck Arthur's lovely floor by spilling anything; lest he be shouted at… again.

He nudged the door open with his elbow and sang, "honey, I'm home-." Then stopped abruptly when he noticed the sleeping Brit. He placed the two cups down on his bedside table then wiped the condensation on the back of his jeans. Arthur slept with his brows furrowed and almost pouting. He was freaking adorable.

Al couldn't resist stroking his friend's absurd and obstinate, messy hair as he bent down on one knew. He looked warn out and winced a number of times before shuddering. His breathing picked up rather suddenly with him inhaling sharply and tears fell from his eyelids which were fluttering as he flinched. The American frowned and removed his hand while watching the boy. He wasn't speaking but his mouth moved as if trying to form words.

"Arthur," he shook the boy whose arm flew out in response colliding squarely with his jaw and knocking his from the unsteady, one-legged stance. He quickly regained his composure as he had just been startle; he stood deciding to jolt him awake lest he risk another injury. He placed a supportive arm around his friend from behind and kicked the chair back. The Brit's eyes shot open and he gasped while grabbing the nearest support he could reach, which was Alfred's arm. He was looking up at framed, cerulean eyes which seemed so intense and looked worried.

The face of his classmate was so close that he could hardly stand it and he was blushing before he could fully register who he was staring at. "Bloody hell, Alfred!" He attempted to stand quickly but only succeeded in winding himself after realising that the American's hand was pressed firmly around him.

"Oh, sorry," he released the boy who scurried away, sitting on his neatly made bed.

"What was that about?"

"You were- well…" Alfred pointed to the English boy's cheek. He slapped his hand to it, feeling the tears and reliving the eerie repetitive dream once more.

"Shite." He cursed using the back of his hands to rub the tears into his skin. "Next time you want to wake me up, don't pull the chair out from under me." Arthur muttered irately.

"Couldn't resist." He lied while rubbing his chin where he'd been hit. "Are you alright?"

Arthur's face exploded into a cherry red from pure embarrassment. "Quite alright," then he lifted his eyes to meet Alfred's. "When are you leaving?"

"Awwww, do I have to?"

"Yes."

"But it's raining outside." He sulked sitting next to Arthur.

"Well, it's not my problem."

"Geez, what, did you bring the rain with you when you left England?"

"Yes Alfred. It fit into my suitcase perfectly next to the pubs I brought and the proper English language."

"No need to get huffy, I was just asking."

Arthur glared at him then his expression faded into one displayed how drowsy he was. "I'm tired, sorry, I don't mean to be rude but would you please leave?"

"Yeah, you don't look to good man. I'll call my mom." He flipped out his phone and after a quick exchange with his mother he snapped it shut. "She'll be here in five."

"Fantastic." He sighed then gave his friend a weak smile. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Not being an obnoxious arse about leaving, like usual."

"Hey!"

"And for not asking about the nightmare." There was a knowing silent agreement between the two not to ask too much about each other's pasts out of mutual respect. Arthur walked Alfred to the door after he thanked Scott and patted Peter on the head (and avoided his sharp teeth for doing so).

Alfred gave the Brit yet another frigid hug but this time when he pulled away he went to kiss Arthur on the cheek. Unknown to the Brit, he turned his head slightly and the American's lips brushed the corner of his mouth. He slapped his cheek where the American had kissed him and turned a deep shade of red. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He all but shouted.

"Ohps, ah well." He laughed off the awkwardness and ruffled his hand through the Brit's hair before turning to the car. "See you tomorrow!"

Arthur felt giddy and exasperated which was quite the overwhelming combination. He had missed; however, the similar blush that crept onto Alfred's face as he hopped into the car.

* * *

*The song is owned by T.A.T.U called '_Stars_'.

*Dobber: fool

* * *

Voila, I hope you liked this chapter... I'm not unhappy with it but I don't love it either (just because Scott's dialogue seems crap to me)...

Review please!


	9. Is this guy a hero?

Sorry for lateness! This was rushed because I was on camp for seven days. It was awesome but I won't bother with stories.

Thanks for the reviews again! Yumi-chan-likes-chainsaws, atramentaceous, ZemyxDexion, Mya3dan, Priestess Kitty Neko, Mudkiprox and Tomoji-kun.

I love you guys!

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Arthur was now completely uncomfortable with the idea of going to the American's house. The corner of his lips had tingled for over an hour after Al had left and made it impossible to relax or think about anything else. He rang the doorbell and politely waited with a box of lindt chocolate in his hand. He hadn't chanced cooking since his food had an acquired taste that took a sophisticated palate… and stomach made of iron.

A tall and glamorous woman in her early forties greeted him with a dazzling smile. She wore a tight green dress that was knee length and smelt of Chanel five. She had straight, cinnamon coloured hair which was tied up and fell past her shoulders as well as the all too familiar cerulean blue eyes that so famously belonged to Alfred. "Hello, Mrs Jones," he exaggerated his accent knowing that it would help win her over. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, Alfred's friend." He hesitated before adding that they were friends, as per usual.

"I'm Diana, but just Dia to you love." She stepped aside, "come in, please. Alfie! Your friend is here!" She called up the stairs. In the light Arthur could see the large but unremarkable cream coloured house that was a modern style. It had large and intrusive windows which allowed people outside to see the colourful interior. Most of the rooms had a feature wall and in the dinning room an American flag had been painted on the plaster. Arthur was impressed by the rich decorations and tan leather furniture that littered the house. It was not what he'd expected to say the least.

Thumping could be heard as the eager teen rushed down the stairs which were relatively close to the door. As soon as his eyes met green one's he grinned. "Hey Arthur!" He hugged the teen who returned the affection just for show since Diana was watching. Of course he wouldn't have done it otherwise. Right? When they pulled away he ducked his head to avoid any accidents… again. "You're early." Alfred commented.

"I thought you said twelve."

"Chyeh, but I didn't expect you to be on time." He laughed and Arthur frowned seeing nothing wrong with being punctual. "But that's cool; my room is just kind of a mess." That was to be expected.

"What are you boys up to today?"

"Yes, Alfred, what are we up to today?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Just seeing a movie whenever Toni and Francis get here." He smiled at Arthur again. "Do you wanna see my room?"

"Alright, thank you for having me Dia." He gave her his best attempt at a kind smile but he just looked relieved.

"It's not a problem, have fun today." And with that she left them alone; heading back into the kitchen. Alfred smiled down at his friend who sighed and returned the gesture until he grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs by force.

"Not so fast! You git! Do you want me to trip?" He snapped, keeping his voice low so that Diana couldn't hear him them quarrel from the next room. Really, how such a pleasant woman could give birth to Alfred was a miracle. And not the good kind.

"Hurry up then!" The blonde boy flashed another thousand watt smile. Arthur found that it was impossible not to envy the cheerful way that Al carried himself with. It was as if he was completely unaffected by anything life threw his way. He was free. Alfred slammed his bedroom door shut and tugged on his friend's green sleeve, drawing him towards the double bed with a worn military uniform on it. "It's from the revolution, cool, huh?"

The piece had been beautifully preserved, as though it belonged in a museum and not on the American's bed surrounded by anarchy. The sash was bleached white along with the pants and shirt; all of which had been pressed perfectly. The blue and red jacket accentuated the rich history contained within the uniform. As he was a admirer of history; Arthur was speechless. "It's incredible."

"Yep, impressive. You know what I was thinking last night? How cool would it have been if our ancestors fought each other?" Arthur's head shot up for the first time in minutes and their eyes met. He imagined a man, similar to Alfred but older, he was holding a musket and had a look that was so passionate that despite it being in his imagination it caught the teen off guard.

"I suppose that could have been possible." He reached out and ran his fingers along the perfectly preserved fabric.

"I've gotta put it away now before Toni and Francis get here." He said with an apologetic voice and Arthur shrugged pretending to be indifferent. After it was stored, hanging in a plastic slip in the back of the American's closet the two sat and chatted civilly.

When Antonio arrived Alfred made a big show of kissing him on the cheek and, despite the repercussions of this action, he even gave Francis a quick one. "Aren't we affectionate?" Toni laughed off the awkward air. It was blatantly obvious to the Brit that this was an attempt to make last night seem as if it was no big deal; and despite the unconvincing way he went about it, he was falling for the ploy.

Francis just gave a lecherous smile to the American and laughed, clearly not as confused as Toni. "Now, now, mon ami, you will make Matilda jealous."

"Shut it Francis." He snapped turning red. It was a bad idea. He was still unable to understand what had prompted him to make a move last night. It wasn't a big deal. It was on the cheek, but still, he rarely did that with his 'guy' friends. Maybe Arthur had forgotten, or didn't notice, or didn't care. Damn it.

"Shall we head off then?" Arthur asked wanting to spend as little time in the younger teen's house as possible.

"Hell yeah," Alfred pumped his fist in the air twice then ushered the small group out of the house.

"I take it, zen Matilda will not be joining us?"

"Nah, she's hanging out with her girlfriends today."

"Is Matt having a home day?" Toni asked placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Yeah, dude's been acting weird lately and won't talk to be about it." Alfred admitted. "He's always been pretty quiet but I'm worried, you know?" Arthur cast a glance from beside Toni towards the American. The subject seemed to be of concern to him and left the Brit feeling guilty.

He quickly changed the subject, more out of a feeling of discomfort as opposed to being genuinely caring. "Alfred, what movie are we going to see?"

Immediately the blonde boy perked up. "Zombies from Hell, it looks awesome!"

"NO!" Antonio and Francis said quickly and unanimously. "I will not baby you again when you jump into my lap and start crying. Zut alors*."

"I won't!"

"You will too, and the last time you spilt coke all down my front. Sorry mi amigo, this time you can go by yourself." Antonio crossed his arms and gave a disapproving look.

"Guuuuuuyyyysssss."

"Oh, belt up. I'll see it with you." The thought of seeing the legendary 'hero' cower at a silly horror movie quite appealed to the Brit. That, and the fact they'd be in a dark cinema… alone.

"Ahhh, you are a brave man Arthur." Francis waggled his eyebrows knowingly.

"I won't stop you, but you're going to regret this." Toni gave a sympathetic look to the Brit.

"I'll be quite alright."

"Yeah! You rock man!"

The cinema was large and sat on the top floor of the nearest mall. During the bus ride over they had talked mainly about the two movies. Alfred explained that the cast was 'freaking awesome' then fought with Francis over who was more attractive: Catherine Zeta Jones or Anne Hathaway. The debate ended in a draw.

Arthur detested the smell of popcorn which was covered predominantly in grease and oil. He bought a bottle of lemonade and skittles and rolled his eyes when he saw Alfred slip a fifty out of his wallet. He didn't even want to know what he'd bought. They parted shortly after the other two had decided on a movie and sat down in the theatre which had large seats. Alfred managed to convince the English teen to sit in the love seats* because he wanted to put his legs up. The thought alone was extremely uncomfortable. Alfred talked throughout the advertisements about how annoying Francis was and Arthur had to fight to resist pointing out the irony in the accusation. He only shut up when the movie started playing.

It was worse than Arthur could have imagined. The boy had thrown his popcorn in the air within the first fifteen minutes and screamed multiple times. He grabbed onto his friend who squawked in protest. "Get the bloody hell off me!"

"I can't! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!" Were those tears? Arthur sighed almost wishing that he'd taken his friend's advice and took the boy's hand.

"I'm right here Al."

Alfred looked at him; the movie momentarily forgotten. He had called him by his nickname and was smiling at him. His eyes were so green, even in the dark theatre and his skin was so soft. A feeling of betrayal knotted in his stomach as thoughts of his girlfriend came to mind. This was wrong and he knew it. Friends didn't act like this. Arthur was no friend.

He jerked his head back towards the screen before he did something he would regret and started screaming once more but didn't grab at Arthur or jump into his lap again. However; they held hands the entire movie. "You have really sweaty palms, you know." He remarked as they left and the Brit flushed.

"I believe it was because you were sweating in terror actually."

"Please, I wasn't that scared."

"We almost got kicked out and you jumped on me four times." He frowned. "Why didn't you just leave when I suggested it?"

"That's easy, because I'm a hero!"

"Right, that doesn't answer my question in the least." He rolled his eyes and pouted as they waited for Francis and Toni's movie to end. "And please let go of my arm." Alfred's hand was quite literally cutting off his blood circulation.

He gave his usual obnoxious laugh and stepped away quickly. "Sorry dude, guess I'm a bit shaken, huh?"

"A tad." He agreed with a small smile.

"I'll text those two to meet us at mine."

"I don't mind waiting."

"Well I'm bored."

"Sorry I couldn't be better company." The blonde scoffed taking offence. "I'll call my brother to pick me up when we go back to yours." They headed towards the lift*.

"Oh, hey, I just realised something random." A sudden thought came to mind. "Your stuff was at your house, like, before you were, how is that?"

"Well, we spared no cost on shipping and sent it early, my bike was-."

"WAIT!" He shouted earning looks from people around them. "You can't leave me alone tonight!" Alfred looked terrified and Arthur wondered how he had only just realised that he had spoken of his brother collecting him. "I'll be alone and scared and defenceless! Please!" He had his hands on both of the Brit's shoulders and was shaking him.

"Bloody hell! Get off me! I will not! Ask Toni or Francis if you need a sitter!"

"You would make me spend the night with Francis?" Tears welled up in his eyes. "Toni's got a guitar lesson and Matt won't sleep with me!" That pout would be the death of poor Arthur. The day that Alfred discovered he could make the blonde do anything by giving him that look was the day that he would have to kill himself. Or, you know, move away.

"Oh, alright! You are such a child!" He marched ahead of the American with a blush plastered on his features.

"Wait! I don't care if it's day light! Don't leave me alone!"

Toni responded moments later informing the two that he would have to leave soon and it would be a nuisance to travel to his house only to leave half an hour later. Francis called and apologised claiming that he had work to do and that he wouldn't want to interfere with their day. Of course the way he said it implied he had something completely different to do. Not that either member would question the excuse.

On the way out they spotted a familiar face that Arthur pointed out. A girl wearing a knee length, spaghetti strap dress was standing in a well lit accessory store. "Isn't that Vash's sister?"

Alfred sighed holding no particular hatred for the girl. "Yep."

"Well, she just pocketed a ring."

"What?"

"I saw her do it."

Alfred struggled with his conscience as to whether it was worth confronting the young girl about it. She looked frightened and had her head hung low as she left the store. Arthur walked towards the store, fully intending to face the girl and demand she return it when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not our problem. The shop's not going to miss one little ring and I don't want to get involved with her." He said in an aggressive voice.

"How unheroic." Arthur scoffed shrugging the hand from his shoulder and heading once more to talk to the girl. She had left the store and was moving towards the exit. "Hey!" He shouted and without looking back the girl bolted. "Stop!"

"Arthur!"

"Get off me!"

"It's not your business!"

"Let go!"

"It's Vash's problem!"

"What the hell are you so afraid of?" He snapped and they both stopped struggling. Alfred removed his hands front the Brit's jacket and gave him a pained look.

"It's complicated."

He sighed, deciding to let this slip just once. "I guess even heroes get scared, don't they?"

"Yeah, well, except for Batman."

"Touché." They didn't speak about the incident again but it nagged Arthur to no end. Why was Alfred so afraid of Ivan and his group?

* * *

*Zutalors: French for 'damn'.  
*Love seats: the seats with no arm rest between them meant for making out.  
*Lift: an elevator… I can never remember who calls which what.

Okay, so, bad news. I'm going back to school soon and will be unable to update as much as I have been (which is a little sad since I'm pretty poor at updating).

Also I realised I'm a b**** and didn't tell you guys the pairings. I didn't bother in the synopsis because it would have taken the entire word limit but I'll tell you here.

AmericaxOC  
AmericaxEngland  
FrancexJean  
SpainxRomano  
GermanyxItaly  
GreecexJapan  
TurkeyxGreece  
ChinaxJapan  
RussiaxChina  
RussiaxLichtenstein  
AustriaxHungary  
PrussiaxHungary  
AustriaxSwitzerland  
PrussiaxSwitzerland

Some of these are in the maybe list because they may not work out. There are more but I don't want to spoil it... if you want me to reveal all ask in a review or PM me. Until then.


	10. This is just lame

Short chapter that is only slightly over 2000 words. Sorry...

Being back in my final year at school leaves me little time to write so I'll apologise now for slow updates.

Thanks to everyone that reviewed again! ZemyxDexion, xxalexisurgodxx, Phamenia, Hikaritears, Randomanime456, mya3dan, and (sorry if I get this wrong) The_Dino_that_writes- Rawr.

I also want to thank my American friend Katie who's been helping me with the setting... Since I set this in America and I live in Australia. Thank you for being amazing~

* * *

Alfred's dad was away on a business trip that night so Alfred, Arthur, Mathew and Diana ate dinner together around a designer, glass table. She asked questions about Arthur's life in England, why he moved but when she started to enquire about his parents Alfred cut in, claiming that he heard the funniest joke ever and now was obviously the best time to share it. Mathew ate silently which Arthur thought was endearing. The resemblance between the twins was uncanny and to the Brit Mathew was just a shy Alfred as he had yet to decipher his personality.

"I'll clear up," Dia informed them after dinner and Arthur insisted that he should help only to have his American friend whine at him that dishes were boring. "Thank you Arthur, but Matty will help, won't you sweetie?"

"Ah-oh, yeah." He flushed from having attention drawn to him.

Alfred's face suddenly fell and he turned to his brother. "Are you sure?"

"It's no problem." He smiled at Al who returned it warmly.

"Thanks bro! Come on!" He pulled on Arthur's arm while walking backwards towards the stairs.

"Thank you for the meal," he managed to say before he was yanked up the stairs and out of sight.

"Duuuuude, you are awesome. My mom totally loves you!" He laughed after shutting his door.

He was close to laughing and claiming that it was to be expected but he shrugged off the flattery instead, favouring the look of the floor boards over the American's face. "So, where's your spare mattress?"

"Huh?"

"Where am I sleeping?"

"Here…" He pointed innocently to the bed and Arthur's face turned about nine shades whiter than it was.

"And where are you sleeping?"

"Here..."

"You don't have an extra bed?"

"Noooo…" Unsure as to whether the boy was lying he frowned. "So, do you want to borrow something to wear?" There was an awkward silence and the poor English boy groaned. Tonight would be hell.

* * *

Someone had seen her. They had seen her take it. Who were they? It didn't matter. She just had to run. They didn't know her. She would be okay.

Lili bolted through the streets in panic, her jaw clenched and eyes narrow as she fought off the inevitable tears that came with guilt and fear. If her brother found out again he would be ashamed. What if he told Roderich and Elizabeta this time? They would never forgive her. People were staring; they were always staring at her when she ran. She wanted to disappear with her prize. She didn't want to return it.

She turned down the nearest alley corner sharply and crashed into a figure before stumbling back and almost tripping in her mary-jane shoes. "Sorry!" The girl shouted, avoiding eye contact and ducking to the side.

"You are Vash's sister, da?" Asked a heavily accented voice and she stopped after recognising it.

"Yes," she said softly stoping and lifting her jade green eyes to meet the rare, violet ones belonging to Ivan Braginski. He was tall, well over six feet with a kind and child like face that contrasted his well known, cruel personality. "I'm sorry, b-but I can't stay." She dropped her head down once more and rushed past him. The Russian teen smiled sweetly as she left and he brought a hand to his chin as if in thought.

"Vash's little sister... that would be a challenge." He hummed to himself then continued on towards the mall.

Lili's legs were aching; she slowed down until she was walking. Her heart was thumping so wildly it caused her pain and she was shaking as she withdrew the ring. It was worth it; the rush, the rewards. Her conscience often got the better of her but today she had escaped with the small trophy which slipped perfectly on her index finger. The girl took a bus home and flopped on her bed while reflecting on the day. Surely she didn't know the person that had yelled at her and Ivan would most likely not mention their meeting. Vash had an agreement with the Russian that involved her. They were not to interact. He was dangerous.

"Lili," Came a sweet but tired voice from the door. "You're home early." Elizabeta Héderváry entered her room. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm okay." She sat up smiling. "Thank you though."

"How was your day?" The inevitable parental question.

"It was fine, thanks."

"You are always so needlessly formal."

"Sorry..." The Hungarian woman unpinned her long honey brown hair as she sat on the edge of her bed. She combed through it with her fingers and sighed softly. The room was exceptionally dull with a bed, a mirrored closet and desk acting as the most prominent features. She had a small collection of stuffed animals and poster of a rabbit which covered the crack in the wall.

"Do you know when your brother will be home?"

"I-I don't know," she admitted shyly and averted her gaze. "I'm sorry if Vash hurt your feelings the other day."

"He has been very angry at Roderich and I recently, hasn't he?" She observed while playing with the hem of her tight, black skirt. "But there is no need for you to apologise for him. If he is sorry then he will say so."

Lili once again curled into a ball on her bed and hugged a hand-made stuffed bear. "Okay..."

"I'll get started on dinner, please try to convince your brother to eat with us tonight."

"Yeah..." Her gaze was distant while speaking of Vash.

Lili and Vash Zwingli had been adopted when the Swiss boy was just thirteen and his sister only eleven. Their parents had been involved in a boating accident and left the two at the mercy of Vash's God parents; Elizabeta Héderváry and Roderich Edelstien. Although married, the Hungarian woman kept her former last name.

Until the day of the accident, Vash had always been a cheerful and civil boy who enjoyed spending time with his God parents but was against the idea of the two becoming their guardian. Roderich, an Austrian man was very strict about rules and discipline which often caused the Swiss boy to remind him that he was 'not their dad'. Discouraged, the God father broke down months later and asked the boy why he was so unwilling to co-operate.

_"Because you aren't my family! We don't need you! I don't want people to think we have any relations because you're nothing to me!" He screamed at the man who had to grit his teeth to compose himself._

_"That's fair, then how do you propose we settle this?"_

_"Simple! You stay away from me and I don't talk to you. I'll pay for everything me and my sister need but in return you can't tell us what to do."_

_"Is-."_

_"That's the only way this will work, take it or leave it." Although rash, the pre-teen was exceptionally clever for his age and therefore felt able to negotiate his independence._

_"Very well, when will you start paying the rent?" He asked in a mocking tone with a cruel hope that the boy had no intentions of paying to live in the house and that he would receive a look of surprise or even a glare._

_"I don't have much money now, but I'll start working and pay you back. I swear. So stay the hell away from us."_

* * *

Arthur was unable to sit still in the American's clothing. Scott would come by the next day; he told him to simply 'make do' tonight as he wasn't driving over to deliver a pair of fresh underwear or the blow up mattress. Alfred had set up a gaming console claiming that game cube was a 'quad-jillion' times more awesome than wii was. He received no opinion on the matter from his friend whose only thought was that this was better than simply talking. As it turned out, all of the games he owned were either violent hero centric games or too scary to play by one's self.

He made the better choice, in other words a game that didn't involve zombies and they played for two hours. From the corner of his eyes Arthur could see a look of concentration that was rather endearing on Alfred's face. His eyes narrowed behind the black framed lenses and his stuck his tongue out of the corner of his lips. His legs were crossed and back was hunched as he leaned in closer to the screen subconsciously. Arthur often had to remind himself to focus when he found he was staring too long and his life bar decreased rapidly and returned his attention to the seizure educing screen. "Whoa! Dude, it's eleven..."

Of course the Brit had been keeping track of the time, hoping to tire out his friend before he had any new and spontaneous ideas. "So it is."

"You up for another game?"

"Why not?"

"Awesome." And so the PS3 was hooked up and Tekken was inserted.

Discourage after the first nine rounds of loosing Alfred suggested they turn off the platform and talk for a while. Arthur smirked at his victory and once even went so far as to shout passionately. "Take this! You bloody wanker!" To which he was asked nicely to keep his voice down so Mathew and Diana could sleep.

"So, what time is your brother coming around?"

"Eight I believe."

"Awesome! So we have the day to do stuff?"

"No... eight in the morning you git."

"Who the hell gets up before eight on a weekend?" He asked after processing the possibility of the phenomenon.

"He has work." Arthur reasoned.

"Then, do you wanna go to sleep?"

Although he wouldn't admit it, he was drowsy from the excitement of the games and spending so much time with Alfred. He really could drain the energy from a person. Alright."

"Okay, but you can't fall asleep before me."

He gave the American a cold look then asked dryly. "And I suppose you want me to read you a bedtime story as well." Alfred scoffed and pulled back the blankets.

Arthur lay at the left edge of the bed, on his side, facing away from the American. The bed was surprisingly comfortable and large which allowed him to keep distance. It would have been quite an amiable place to sleep if it weren't for Alfred shaking near him. He was gradually shifting closer to the Brit attempting to be inconspicuous however the movement did not go unnoticed.

"Would you stop bloody moving?"

"It's not my fault! You don't think there are any zombies in my room, do you?" At this Arthur actually sat up with a blank expression and stared down at him, wondering if he was joking or if he really was that stupid.

"You aren't serious are you?"

"No… I can't help it!" He pulled the thick blanket over his head. Both of their eyes had adjusted to the dark room at this point and thus the large bundle that was Alfred was easy to distinguish in the dark

A sigh escaped through parted lips as he lay back down and shuffled closer to the American, pulling the blanket over his head also. "You're a child." Alfred squinted and reached his hand out to touch Arthur's face. "What are you doing?" He asked when his cheek was mercilessly poked into an expression mirroring a grimace.

"It's not so bad for you… Without my glasses it's harder to see things. They could sneak up on me." He reasoned defensively in a childish tone.

"Well, I'm not afraid of zombies. So if one turns up I'll get rid of it."

The younger teen frowned. "Pfft. You can't kill a zombie… they're dead."

"Then I'll politely ask it to leave."

"I'm not so sure that will work…"

"I guess you'll have to trust me. Now go to sleep so I can." Alfred grinned and shifted in closer to his friend who started to flush. "What are you doing?"

"Shh…" It was starting to get difficult for the two to breathe with their faces buried beneath linen but the neither would risk exposure for their own selfish reasons. He curled into a ball next to the English boy with an arm across him so that he could feel the body next to him. Arthur, conflicted between desire and morals, decided to drape an arm around his shoulder for the soul purpose of getting some sleep. And in this position, they did.

* * *

Hope you liked it! Review :)


	11. This isn't good

Sooo... I have exams coming up soon. While this is out pretty early for me I won't post next week (and possible the week after *cries*) because this is my last year at school and I really need to concentrate on my studies.

Thanks to my reviewers again: atramentaceous, Randomanime456, Phamenia, mya3dan, ZemyxDexion, Hikaritears, DDR, ChocolateFTW and m201012.  
You guys make my day :)

* * *

Alfred woke at about two in the morning when he realised that it was virtually impossible to breathe under the blanket and was forced to discard it and face any monsters that may come to eat him. His face was close to the Brit's who was eerily quiet while he slept. He barely moved as he breathed and his chalk fair skin gave him a deathly appearance. The younger teen was able to see him despite the dark and his pathetic vision. He lifted a hand and stroked his skin as if needing to feel the warmth to be assured that there was life remaining in his still frame.

It struck him that he felt at peace in this position and had to banish all thoughts of being too comfortable. He wondered vaguely what it would be like to _really_ kiss him and have it not be an accident. In his vulnerable state no one would ever know so long as he didn't wake up. He could feel his warm breath caress his neck as his lips were parted and he breathed through his mouth. Alfred leaned closer so that their foreheads bumped together and admired Arthur's long lashes. Everything about him was so elegant and perfect (save for the caterpillars he called eyebrows) and it drove him insane. No matter how he tried to banish any feelings and focus on the people who were meant to be most important to him he was unable to shift his new friend from his mind.

And yet it had only been a week.

Arthur woke first the next morning as to be expected and immediately sat up from the awkward position they had slept in. It was a rather uncomfortable embrace which not only was too close for comfort but made the Brit feel small in the athlete's arms. He combed his fingers through his hair and checked for sleep in his eyes then woke up the American who seemed unusually groggy. "Funny, I rather assumed you were a morning person." He stated while picking up his neatly folded clothing and heading for the door.

"Why would you think that? I don't even wake up in the morning on the weekend." He yawned.

"I think it's a waste to sleep the day away."

"Guess that's the difference between you and me then."

"One of the many." He smiled as he left to change in the bathroom. It was his intention to hide the tattoo on his back although Alfred misinterpreted it as him being a self-proclaimed 'gentleman'.

After getting changed he ventured downstairs so that Alfred could have a shower, informing him that he would have one at his own house. Mathew was busy in the kitchen stirring a bowl of batter and hadn't noticed his guest enter. There were two metal canes next to him that Arthur observed he used in order to stand and reach the vanilla essence oil. He hummed happily while remaining oblivious until the Brit discretely cleared his throat and walked to greet him. "Good morning."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't notice you." The twin said while turning cherry red. "Good morning Arthur, do you want some pancakes?"

"If it's not any trouble. Do you need a hand at all?" He asked slightly concerned about the paraplegic boy using the stove. He was honestly surprised to find that he could stand so easily as he was positive that he had never witnessed him do so at school even with aid.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a bit of help… could you cook them? It's always difficult for me."

"Of course! Yes, no problem!" He rushed out eager to assist Mathew if he needed it.

"Sorry, it doesn't seem right for a guest to cook their own breakfast."

"Really, it's alright Mathew."

He suddenly smiled while looking up at the Brit, contrasting the usual down cast glances he gave. "I didn't think you knew my name…"

"I-well, Alfred talks about you an awful lot."

"Ah…" Was all the response he got before shyly handing him the bowl to stir.

"We don't get to talk a lot at school." Arthur observed while pouring batter into a frying pan.

"Well, Alfred generally draws attention away from me." He smiled. "I like it that way though, there's no pressure for me to make conversation."

"Are you good friends with Francis? You talk to him an awful lot." He flipped the pancakes over and avoided looking at Mathew in case he thought he was staring.

"I guess, he's been Alfred's friend for longer though. He helped him through some rough patches." He explained. "What classes are you taking?" The two were able to talk easily and found each other quite likeable. After a few minutes Arthur found himself unbearably curious. "Is it alright if I ask why you're in a wheel chair?" His heart rate increased as he was unsure of how to phrase the question.

"You haven't asked Al yet?" Mathew sounded surprised. "Oh, well, it was an accident. I fell from a third story apartment block and fractured my T4, 5 and 6 bones. The swelling damaged my spine but the doctors think I'll be able to walk again without aid."

"I'm sorry," Arthur said genuinely. The shy boy waved a hand and smiled. "It's good that this isn't permanent but that's really unfortunate."

"It was upsetting at first, but I'm making progress. It's a shame I have to give up ice hockey though. That's a great sport." At that moment Al decided to walk in with a loud and unnecessary laugh.

"That's my girls! Making the hero breakfast." His voice was dripping with sweetness that was taunting in an unsubtle way.

"The hero's going to starve if he isn't careful." Arthur stated unaffected.

Unfortunately for Mathew the Brit was no master in the culinary arts and somehow managed to burn the insides of the hot cakes while leaving the inside raw. Al was unfazed and drowned the unpleasant disaster in syrup. Arthur was used to his cooking and stomached it easily but the quiet twin politely informed them that he liked his own cooked 'differently' and wisely declined any other help he was offered.

As promised the Brit was collected at eight that morning by Scott who was always cheerful. Diana invited him in for coffee which he declined, claiming that he was needed in work today and that he had to take Arthur home quickly.

"See ya Arthur." Alfred said walking him to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye…"

"It was good seeing you Mathew."

"But you know it was more awesome seeing me."

"As always." He said flatly and the American laughed, pulling him into a familiar hug. Arthur fit so perfectly in his arms, like matching pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. They completed each other and this was unable to escape either of their notice.

The younger twin frowned at the lingering hug, sensing their connection until the Brit pulled away, smiled at him again and left. Once gone Al looked back, making guilty eye contact with his brother who seemed unimpressed then said. "I'll call Tilly," and left.

* * *

Yao had yet to so much as hint that he thought Kiku should leave the sanctuary that was his house. Every day he had walked Yao to the door when he left for school and greeted him when he came home. His grandmother had little concern for what he did as long as his grades remained in the A range which they had never fallen from. His mother was delighted to have Kiku back in their life as he was her favourite friend of her son's.

He helped with the house work and talked to her a lot, opening up to the woman about his problems. Mei was a young mum, married when she was seventeen and had four children with Yao being the oldest. She spoke perfect English having been brought up in a wealthy Chinese house hold and had a very liberal view on life. She didn't criticise Kiku's relationship but gave him sympathy and advice.

"I'm going to get you moved from his math class, you can be sure of that," she said sternly and Kiku blushed.

"Please don't… it will look suspicious if you do since I'm not sure if Adnan sensei has told the principal or if he even knows for that matter." He said as they folded the washing. Mei gave him a concerned look then continued to work. Although she was not stunningly beautiful there was elegance in her symmetrical features and full lips. She was short but proportionate and wore young, floral clothing that gave her a youthful air.

"You'll need to go back eventually." She told him with a stern tone.

The Japanese boy's posture slumped and he nodded. "Yes, thank you for having me for this long."

"You don't have to leave if you don't want to. You're always welcome here Kiku, I just mean you need attend school so you don't fall behind." She gave him an affectionate smile which he returned.

"You are too kind to me."

"Well, you're just too sweet." She lifted the folded clothing and went to put the sheets away. "Yao should be home soon, Ivan and Vash may stay for dinner tonight." She told him and his throat immediately dried out.

Vash and Kiku were on fair terms. They could speak to each other easily but because of the Asian boy's dislike of Ivan they could be no more than class mates. "I'm afraid that may be awkward for me." He said although he hadn't intended for Mei to hear him. She didn't.

"Kiku." She said emerging from her room with a glow around her. "I'm so glad you and Yao are friends again."

"I am too, but…" Mei noted his habit of leaving sentenced unfinished still hung and he needed to prompt him.

"But, what?"

"I'm afraid that it may not last. When I go back to school we won't talk anymore… He's friends with Ivan and…"

"And?"

"Do you who Alfred Jones is?" Kiku lifted his head to meet her eyes and Mei shrugged with a pout.

"He's not exactly friends with Ivan and he's my close friend."

She rolled her eyes. "This sounds like tribal wars to me." The woman laughed. "Ivan's the first boyfriend Yao has had. I'm willing to look past his faults for now so that my son can be happy."

Kiku smiled but it was short lived when the sound of a knob turning and door hitting the plastered walls echoed through the house. The Japanese boy went to the door as usual, his heart racing and his fingers crossed childishly. Unfortunately for him his fears met reality and both Ivan and Vash were at the door. The Russian was smiling a sickeningly sweet smile while Vash adorned his usual disapproving scowl which lightened slightly upon seeing Kiku.

"Welcome back." He said as was customary in his culture.

"Thank you." Ivan said as if it were him that the Asian boy was addressing. Yao said nothing, feeling the air around them tense drastically.

"Do you guys want a drink?" The Chinese teen asked, turning to his friends and ignoring Kiku for the time being.

"Vodka would be nice."

"We don't have vodka-aru." He stated plainly.

"Water is fine." Vash walked past the two and over to greet the other teen.

"You look well," he commented. "I figured you were sick with all the time you spent away from school. It's pretty rare for you to miss a day."

Kiku looked surprised at being addressed but also at the fact that Yao hadn't told them the reason he was living with him. The three of them were always together and he was sure they must have shared everything. "You didn't tell them?" He asked over Vash's shoulder.

"I didn't think it was necessary-aru." Yao shut the door and crossed his arms, his tone suddenly becoming much harsher in the Russian's presence. "Kiku's been sick and since his grandmother isn't always able to take care of him I said he could stay here."

"Ah, well it's good to see he is better." Ivan asked in a mockingly sugar coated voice. "I guess that means he will be going home soon, da?" He looked at Yao who tensed and nodded twice then glanced at Kiku apologetically.

_Please don't look at me like that._

"We're back."

"huān yíng huí jiā*," was the quick response and Mei rushed out to greet them. "Hello Ivan, Vash, dinner will be ready in half an hour, so make yourselves at home."

"Always nice to see you Mei." Ivan smiled.

"I hope we aren't intruding." The blonde stated in a flat voice.

"No, no, I'll be here if you need me." She motioned to the kitchen.

Kiku opened his mouth to volunteer to help with dinner but Ivan cut across him. "If you get drinks we can be waiting in your room." He said in slightly broken English.

Yao's gaze flashed over to the Japanese boy whose eyes were pleading for him not to leave him alone with Ivan and Vash. "He only has two hands, I'll help him." Vash volunteered without any expression.

"Great." Ivan brushed past the Asian boy who shuddered involuntarily. "You are cold? Maybe you are not feeling better just yet." He said placing a large hand on his shoulder. "Let us go to Yao's room, da?"

"Ha- ah, yes." He almost slipped into his first language. His head was buzzing and he was pushed from his friend. Internally he was screaming, begging Yao to help him but he didn't so much as open his mouth to stop the situation. The only apology he received was a look of inner conflict then he turned his back to Kiku and went to fetch the drinks.

"It is good to be seeing you are friends again with Yao."

"Yes…"

"Friends are very important."

"I agree."

"But of course, the most important person is your partner right? They are the person you love above all else." He added with a wide smile. A torturous smile. He was taunting him, measuring their worth and telling Kiku that he wasn't as highly valued. "You agree, da?"

"I-I don't know." Ivan lay down on Yao's bed, sprawling across it as if he owned the furniture and did this on a daily basis without invitation.

"You know, you are very cute. Your hair is almost like a girl." He sat up, reaching his hand out and attempting to touch the boy's cheek who flinched away at the gesture. "You aren't afraid of me, are you Kiku?" He asked in mock hurt.

"No." His voice was small. "And I don't look like a girl either, so please don't say something so untrue."

Ivan's smile twitched but grew as he chuckled. "I didn't say you looked like a girl, I was complimenting your hair. Please don't be angry with me. I don't like angry people."

He was an instigator, always trying to wind people up so they would snap and make the first move. Kiku said nothing and sat down on his mattress on the floor. "I disagree but I apologise if I seemed angry with you. That was not my intention."

"Apology accepted." He laughed as if it were a simple misunderstanding. "You seem like a nice guy, I hope that we can be friends."

"I'm sorry but I feel that would make Alfred angry." He was shaking in terror and repressed hatred. Maybe Ivan would lose his cool and abuse him for declining the invitation but he couldn't accept it on good conscience no matter how forgiving his nature allowed him to be.

"How is Alfred? He doesn't talk to me anymore."

_Of course he doesn't. There's a reason for that and you know it!_ "He's fine."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Silence.

"And Mathew?"

Kiku's head snapped up so that their eyes met and he grit his teeth. "Fine also."

"I see, you blame me for the accident? I wonder what Alfred has told you."

"Can we change the subject?"

"Oh, but why? You don't think Jones is innocent in this do you?" He taunted him with that smirk and kind eyes that masked cruelty. How dare he try to turn him from his friend? What was he trying to accomplish? What good would it do to turn _him?_

Kiku was silent in resentment until Yao came into the room, followed soon after by Vash. The moment the Chinese teen sat next to Ivan he was pulled into his lap and blushed as his neck was abused. Kiku turned his head away from it knowing that Ivan was provoking him to snap while the Swiss boy made no move to stop them, clearly used to the affections. "Later-aru?" He begged but the fair haired boy was distracted with marking his property. "Ivan, later, please?"

It appeared that this time his plea did not go unrecognised as he was released by his lover whose lips where slightly pink. "Will you be at school Monday?" Vash asked and Kiku nodded, sparing a glance at Yao who looked miserable.

"I intend to be."

"Good, because I need help with our new topic."

"What is it?" He asked, suddenly engaged by the conversation.

"Parabolas."

"You are very good at teaching maths, da? Perhaps you could be helping me later on." Ivan said in an almost shy voice.

"Ah, we shall see…" Was the vague response.

"I have to hand it to you, you're a much better teacher than Karpusi is." There was hinted amusement in the blonde's voice as he said this and Kiku flushed and looked down so his bangs fell over his eyes.

"Thank you."

"Why so shy?" Ivan asked. "Your grades are outstanding in all of your classes, aren't they?"

"No, they're average." He lied having aced most of his exams.

"You're too modest." Vash said in a way that sounded as though he was genuinely criticising the boy.

"Excuse me." He stood up without lifting his head and left. His heart was pounding from being complimented by people he was meant to hate. He should hate them. He was Alfred's friend. They must have been mocking him just then. And Yao had said nothing the entire time to him. He was ashamed of their friendship. He had gone no further than the bathroom which was next door and had neglected to close the door or give himself any privacy.

Kiku leaned his head on the tiled wall and breathed deeply allowing condensation to form on the white of the walls. They had seemed almost normal, like any average group of friends just chatting but they were bad news. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Vash with an impatient scowl. "Yao's worried."

"Then he should have come."

"Ivan asked him to stay."

"He should have come."

"Ivan told him to stay." At this Kiku pressed his lips into a thin line and removed his forehead from the wall. "I know you aren't sick and I'm not stupid enough to even bother asking what happened since we aren't friends and I don't expect you to tell me anything." The Swiss teen relaxed slightly as if trying to seem neutral and not let pent up anger control what he said next. "But if you need something then I'm here for you, since you helped me with my math homework so many times. It… just seems right." He reasoned to himself

"Vash-san… thank you."

The blonde turned an unusual shade of red, having not heard the Japanese boy say his name before nor being thanked so genuinely by him. "Errr, you're welcome." He stepped forward and for some unfathomable reason gave the teen a hug. He stiffened then relaxed, not used to being shown such affections.

"You said we weren't friends… but… I do trust you."

The blonde boy pulled away rather quickly and stuttered. "W-well, good, I guess… because you can."

"I'm glad." Vash turned back, silent for a moment which made Kiku feel rather uncomfortable then he did something completely unexpected. He bent down and kissed him on the lips. At first the Japanese teen didn't know how to react, he was shocked but not entirely disgusted. He missed the feeling of having lips brush against his own and subconsciously opened himself to the kiss, lacing his arms around Vash's shoulders and drawing him in.

He was tired of feeling unwanted by the people he cared most about and even if this was on the rebound at that moment it felt right. They were interrupted however when Yao came in to check on the two. He was naturally shocked by what he saw and looked pained for a moment, staring at Kiku then Vash with a look of betrayal then said. "If you two are done, we have dinner now-aru."

* * *

*According to google this is 'welcome home' in Chinese… Yikes, I don't trust translators and avoid them at all costs. I probably wrote something super offensive there.

Just so you guys know... I seriously didn't intend for Japan and Switzerland to have any connections but their characters seemed to just fit in this... and they had a moment and... well... Yeah. It just happened. Since I don't intend to take their relationship anywhere this is not technically a pairing. Kiku's just on the rebound.

QUESTION: who do you guys want Japan to end up with? Because I'm a huge fan of GreecexJapan but he's been kind of a jerk... I also like ChinaxJapan so that's an option. But I'd like to know who you guys want and if possible why... Thank you for any feed back on this.

Review please!


	12. This is too much

Thank you for the comments about Kiku. They have really helped me with my direction. I will try to get the next chapter out faster next time.

Thanks to all these awesome reviewers: SnowGirl999, ManiacalDolphins, ZemyxDexion, music-rox12, mudkiprox, Skadiyoko, Sha-Lin, china-aruX3, mya3dan, Randomanime456, Wolfie832 and Noelle who actually went through and commented on all my chapters!

You guys are so amazing~

* * *

Lili received a phone call from her brother that night to ensure she was feeling alright and to inform her that he would not be returning this evening. Despite being upset she put on her best front for her guardians. "Umm…" She started while fiddling with the hem of her dress and lowering her gaze to the red, carpeted floor. Everything in the house looked exceptionally well decorated save for her room and Vash's. His issues revolving around independence led to him only ever borrowing money when Lili was in need of new clothing and he was down to his last five in the bank.

The dining room where the three stood had antique but wonderfully made furniture which was ornate and added an air of wealth to the teachers' home. The walls were white and there were French styled windows that made the posh room look even more grand. Roderich sat with a newspaper in hand not even bothering to look up in fear that any emotion might accompany his words. "He's staying out again isn't he?"

"He's at Yao's." She admitted as if he were committing a crime. Which he wasn't. Tonight at least.

"That's fine by me." He stated although when he folded the newspaper he ripped it accidently.

Elizabeta hid her hurt expression and masked her face with a smile. "Oh well, Lili, I cooked up fondue because it's your favourite." She neglected to add that it was also the Swiss boy's which was the primary reason for her cooking it. "Roderich, dear, would you get the cutlery?"

"I think I'll eat in my study after all." He stood up and walked by the young girl who couldn't help but feel as if this was partially her fault.

Her mask broke and she snapped. "You will not! Sit down right now!" The Hungarian woman commanded and he stared at her.

"Don't tell me what to do, Liz." He said coolly and dangerously.

"I will Roderich and don't you dare walk away this time! I went to the trouble of cooking tonight! I want to just eat dinner together for once and not have you leave just because Vash isn't here."

"It has nothing to do with Vash."

"It has everything to do with him!" She said sharply, not yet in tears but knowing they would soon surface. "I'm tired of you moping over this, let him live his life for a while and be here for him when he returns! Until then why not pay attention to the people around you before you lose them too."

"I'm not losing anyone Liz." He stated.

"Are you so sure?" She challenged him in a poisonous tone.

"Let's not fight in front of Lili."

"Why? So we can pretend that we're functional, because clearly we aren't!" And then the tears came, pouring out after every syllable. "I can't deal with this!" She shouted walking right by Lili who looked mortified by the scene. "I'm sorry."

"Liz, wait." She was making a dash for the door but her husband got there first placing a large hand over it.

"Let me go Roderich!"

"You're being rash Liz."

"I'm being realistic! Stop ending your sentences with my name! Don't patronize me! Let me go!" She attempted to push the man when he pinned her against the wall and forcefully pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was devoid of any feeling as the two lost all intimacy soon after adopting the children. He pulled away when he felt her posture slump. "I can't do this." She gasped for breath and wiped away the fast falling tears.

Roderich hugged his wife who had settled after her episode. "We'll figure this out."

Lost in time, they held each other as they once did, desperately trying to rekindle feelings they once possessed but with no avail. The distinct sound of china hitting wood could be heard from the dining room. "I love you." She lied.

"I love you too." He lied.

This is what their happiness amounted to: a web of lies.

They walked hand in hand to the room where Lili was serving for three. The innocence that hung around her due to her actions was enough to melt Elizabeta's heart so she walked quickly to hug the girl to her chest. "Lili, you're so precious." She muttered feeling tears fall once more. Even if their life was made up of lies and deceit there were moments of indescribably happiness.

* * *

Antonio had left the mall early claiming that he had a 'make-up' tutoring session which Franics immediately took to be a 'make-out' session and of course did not keep him for less than a moment. After that he had wandered the mall for over an hour hoping to bump into a cute personality whom he could entertain himself with, since of course there was nothing else he should be doing on a Saturday afternoon. Naturally he found his target.

A petite girl with caramel coloured hair was sitting at a table alone eating what appeared to be Hawaiian pizza. Her sweet face was dolled up by unnecessary make up that gave her a much more grown up appearance than was suited to her. Still. He strutted up to her table, earning a look of surprise as her eyebrows shot up questioningly. "'ello, I am very sorry to trouble you mademoiselle, but I am new to zis country and was 'oping zat-."

"Umm…" came a voice too close to Francis's ear. He pivoted quickly to face Jean and Tilly who were looking confused. Suddenly Matilda smirked and the Frenchman's mouth closed from its gaping state. "So… Francis, this is Bella and she's from Belgium. She started here a week before Arthur."

"And we have history together." She added with a grin.

"Qu'avez-vous dit?"(What did you say?) Jean asked in French, hoping that by speaking quickly Tilly would not be able to catch her question.

"Rien, rein mon amour." (Nothing, nothing, my love)

"For the record, I can understand you both and it's pretty rude guys." The Australian said placing down her lunch next to Bella.

"Go away Francis, we are 'aving a girls day." Jean said irately ripping open the ketchup packet to accompany her fries.

The boy smiled noticing the brunette's lunch was none other than McDonalds. "I see zat Alfred 'as rubbed off on you, non?"

"Alfred didn't invent maccas* and I've always liked it." She stated defensively.

"Well, I'm just glad to see zat you are eating now."

Jean, irritated by the fact she had been ignored took a step so that her face was inches from Francis. "D'accord, ça suffit. Mainteant, arrêter." (Okay, that's enough. Now stop it.) She said in a threatening tone.

Matilda had gone uncharacteristically quiet and frowned at her food. "Wow, there are some serious tensions between you guys." Bella observed openly.

"Ahhh, zat is because both of zese girls are desperately in love wiz me but are too shy to admit it." He said with a dramatic act accompanying it, hugging himself as if to contain the passion.

"Ew!" Jean gagged.

"Keep telling yourself that, mate."

Francis just laughed off the rejection and turned to Bella with a grin. "So zen, 'ow would you like to go out with moi?"

"Yeah, okay." The peppy girl said smiling.

Jean's face fell and Matilda's eyes bulged. She said yes? Even Francis wasn't expecting this reaction but laughed none the less. They exchanged phone numbers while ignoring Tilly asking if they were rushing things. Jean had a kicked puppy expression and slumped in her chair slightly. She was nudged by her friend that gave her an apologetic look.

"Zen, I will leave you girls to your lunch."

"Great, see you 'round." Tilly said quickly.

"Salut." (bye) Jean added dismissively.

"Bye." Bella all but giggled.

Oh, the effects one boy could have on three friends.

* * *

Dinner became quickly awkward when Mei announced that she had to pick up Yao's little brother, Young, from the mall. Kiku sat next to the Swiss boy purposefully and across from his childhood friend, leaving Ivan at a diagonal.

Yao said nothing to the two he'd caught in the bathroom in favour of resting his head on his lover's shoulder and insisting he was fine when asked. "So…" Ivan started, not being one to part take in silences. "I hear Felix is having a party next Friday night, we should go, da?"

"If it's anything like last time it's bound to be good." Yao commented and the three friends laughed, excluding Kiku from the personal joke.

"You should come," Vash told the Japanese boy with a serious expression that made it hard to say no.

"I'm not really interested in parties." He admitted, looking down at his colourful plate. "But thank you for the invitation."

"Come on," Ivan agreed which in turn made Kiku's blood run cold. "It will be fun, something good always happens at Felix's parties."

"We shall see."

"Is that a yes, or a no? I can never tell with you." The Swiss boy stated almost smirking at the enigma before him.

"It means perhaps."

"Anyone ever told you you're very vague?" Vash stood, clearing everyone's plates despite Yao's protesting that he could do it.

"Why don't we be meeting at mine beforehand?" Ivan offered with a smile. "You are welcome to come too Kiku."

"Uhhhhh." Was the intelligent response and the Japanese boy flushed. "N-no, I really must decline."

"Oh, but _I_ insist." He hummed at the challenge.

"Thank you for the offer, but no."

"Yes."

Yao suddenly gave Ivan a cold look. He was suspicious. He was always suspicious because the Russian always had ulterior motives. There was always something to gain and he always got it. The intentional repetition of 'always' is because this was a fact. Nothing ever went wrong with his plans… except for that one time… "Why does it matter so much if he goes-aru?" He suddenly snapped.

"Awww, you aren't jealous are you? I want you to come too Yao, you're my date." His voice was sugar coated but full of hidden sarcasm.

"Stop assuming things, I know what you're doing. I'm not jealous so don't go planting ideas in anyone's head-aru! This is just so typical!" He snapped and stood up to help Vash with the dishes.

Ivan was silent, feeling a slight annoyance creep through him as he hadn't intended to actually pester his boyfriend. "Um-," Kiku started although he couldn't believe he was about to encourage their relationship. "Maybe you should apologise to Yao…"

"But why? I didn't do anything." The mock innocence was far too clear.

A tense air hung around the two and the Japanese boy's eyes met those belonging to Ivan. "Are you really that naïve or is your goal to break the people you're closest to?" He suddenly asked venomously.

Ivan was startled but then looked amused. "Ouch. You hurt me, Kiku."

"Shut up!" He suddenly stood up. "I know what you did to Alfred! I know it's your fault and that he carries your guilt! If you're trying to do the same thing to Yao by pushing him away then get out of his life and away from me! I don't know what you're doing, but you insult me, patronize me and wind me up then invite me over like we're friends! We will never get along, so please just leave me alone." And with that outburst he left the dining room. Both the Chinese and Swiss boy had heard him and each volunteered to go comfort the distraught Asian teen.

Ivan sat with his fingers laced under his chin; he wasn't smiling or frowning but reflecting upon what had been said. His gaze traced up to Yao when he sat next to him awkwardly. He was reminded that of course he did hold feelings for this boy and hugged him loosely. "Мне очень жаль," (sorry) he said and he felt arms slip around him, telling him that he was forgiven.

Yao's room was dark now; the light from the moon shone through white blinds and illuminated the dancing dust in the air. It was possible now he hated Ivan Braginski more than ever. He was convinced that this person held no decency or respect for anyone and that there was nothing to redeem him. A knock on the door reminded Kiku that it was childish to mope and resulted in him sitting up. Vash entered the room and sat next to him on his fold out mat.

"He's not as bad as you think." He explained almost immediately. The two sat with their legs hugged to their chest and arms drawn around them.

"Please don't think I mean to direct any of my anger towards you, Vash-san."

"I know, but Kiku, there are two sides to every story."

"And how many of those do you know?"

"Both."

"And you still took his side?"

"…This isn't about me."

"So… who told you Alfred's side of the story?"

Vash sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Gilbert was my friend in middle school. The idiot still talks to me from time to time."

Kiku had to bury his face to hide a giggling laughter, when asked what was so funny he responded. "I am sorry, but the two of you seem very different to be friends."

"Well, it was definitely one sided for a long time." He agreed, cracking a small smile which was rare and the Japanese boy realized that he liked it.

"Sometimes we get along with people that we least expect to."

"Yeah…" The two beamed slightly at each other, Vash leaned in once more, stroking Kiku's cheek and brushing any fly away hairs from his face. They were inches apart when suddenly the Asian boy pulled away blushing.

"Sorry."

"No, this is a bad idea."

"I agree…"

"If you agree then why did you go along with it?"

"…I'm not sure."

"Well, I know why." He replied after a minute earning a look of disbelief. "And I don't care if you hate Ivan because he can be a fucker when he wants to be." He added. "It's always hard when you still have feelings for a person that's changed and that bastard sure as hell loves to kick you when you're down-."

"How do you know all this?"

"Hm?" He scowled. "I saw you and Mr. Karpusi a few weeks back. Yao didn't tell me anything, you don't need to worry."

Kiku's breath hitched for a second and he shuddered while repressing a sob. "Why are you friends with Ivan?" He quickly changed the subject. "If he's such a bad person to you?"

"You can swear if you want." The Swiss boy chuckled at the reserved language. "I get along with him because it benefits me. That's how most friendships work, right?"

Silence hung between them now, Kiku buried his face in his folded arms which rested on his knees. "I disagree."

* * *

It was freaking freezing that Monday morning as Alfred jogged to his car and pulled out a set of keys. He had informed the house hold he would be leaving early to pick up his new friend, who of course remained none the wiser. He grumbled to himself when the heater blasted cold air out for a moment before warming up and he sped off towards Rosings street. He was first greeted by Scott who was hurrying out of the house with a briefcase in one hand and bagel in the other. He looked confused upon seeing the second-hand ford pull up on the curb.

"Hey." Al shouted, slamming his door with more force than necessary.

"Good morning, up a bit early aren't we? Arthur's not out of bed quite yet."

"Well, I pass by here every morning to go to school, I thought we could car pool."

"Alright, good idea." He dismissed the teen while getting into his car.

Alfred waved Scott off then hopped up the stairs with light bounces, which of course was not skipping, then let himself in. He went into the kitchen and fastened his friend a few pieces of toast and a cup of tea when he heard thumping from the room above him. "Blood hell!" The Brit shrieked, having forgotten to set his alarm clock after spending all night watching Monty Python movies.

Alfred laughed slightly when the pajama adorned teen did a double take after coming downstairs. "Good morning sunshine."

"Alfred!"

"Yes."

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Well, that's a dumb question."

"Alfred!"

"You already said that. I'm here to give you a lift, alright? You'd be late if my awesome-ness hadn't come to save your ass." He held out the tea which of course had been made in a mug as opposed to a tea cup. None the less, he gratefully accepted the beverage then the toast and chose to ignore the logical sense of him that was screaming for Alfred to get out of his house.

"Thanks wanker."

"No problem darling."

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him then stood. "I'll be right back, just let me get dressed and we can go."

"You're welcome."

"Right, thank you."

Alfred smirked at the fact that Arthur's pajamas consisted of a grey tank top and boxers. It seemed rather unrefined for the gentleman who prided himself in appearance. As his friend retreated from the room he couldn't help but stare at his slender form. While obviously toned, his waist was slight and his hips were fairly predominant. A sensual desire flushed through him and left him feeling warm. It was too early in the morning for this.

He fiddled aimlessly with his 'Save Ferris'* t-shirt until his friend emerged, dressed and packed. "You didn't brush your hair." He commented earning a fierce glare.

"Yes I did."

"Oh… well that's unfortunate."

"Belt up, git!" Arthur turned and ushered the American from his house, calling up to Peter that they were leaving.

"Today's going to be a good day!"

"It always is for you."

"C'mon Arthur, you know it is."

"It's Monday morning." Was the flat and cynical response.

"Yeah, it's the first day of a new week! Doesn't get much better than that!"

"Did you do your Society and Culture homework?"

"…Shit!"

And thus began another infuriating and troublesome week which tested every nerve (and many new ones) that Arthur possessed.

* * *

*Maccas: what Aussies call McDonalds for short- I was surprised to learn that this is Australian slang.

*Ferris Bueller's day off- awesome movie which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it.

* * *

I don't think I've been this unhappy with a chapter since... maybe, chapter four or something? Man...  
But it's done, that was my main concern and all of this had to happen in order for the next part to come out...

Review :)


	13. This is what happened

Late and short. Horrible combination. I'll be on exams for the next two weeks, so no promises about updating.

I'd like to thank my friend Rachel who I call up every week to read this to. She's an amazing, honest person who has inspired me so much for this.

And thank you again to my reviewers: ZemyxDexion, Wolfie832, meincarrot, Tomoji-kun, xxalexisurgodxx, mya3dan and Randomanime456!

* * *

It wasn't until Wednesday that anything of great merit happened again apart from the general banter that occurred in the group and Alfred's early start in the mornings. For Arthur, meeting Ivan Braginskiwas something he had anticipated, as the Russian boy was often absent and had been for five days straight. He had to come back eventually. Thus, one chilly afternoon, the Brit walked with Antonio and Matilda from PE only to be singled out by him.

Toni froze as he walked towards the trio and nudged Tilly whose eyes narrowed into slits of hazel. "Privyet, how are you?" He asked in a thick accent accompanied by a smile.

Matilda looked at him in a loathing manner and Toni avoided eye contact. From these simple reactions Arthur needed no introduction. "Fuck off Ivan." The girl muttered darkly and walked by him, ahead of her friends who soon followed.

The Russian's smile didn't falter but grew as he watched them retreat. "Felix is having a party this weekend, I though Al would be being interested so I'm passing on the invitation. It is his kind of thing, da?"

"Don't call him Al! He doesn't want to go to your bloody party!" She all but shouted. Arthur was disturbed by her outburst but could only watch as Antonio grabbed at his friend's arm. "Don't talk like you know shit!"

"Tilly!" Toni warned her.

"Who is this?" Fake innocence dripped like wax on his voice as the teen ignored the accusations and beamed at Arthur.

Immediately switching to his default tone the Brit sighed. "I'm sure introductions can wait until you're done. It's rather rude to interrupt a discussion." He drawled while crossing his arms.

"But I think we were done."

"I disagree."

There was silence for a few seconds between them as Toni encouraged Matilda to leave and calm down but she remained, like a cat in the presence of a dog, glaring at her rival. "I'm Ivan Braginski, it's nice to meet you."

"I can't return the sentiment." He snipped turning his heel. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" The Russian boy asked as if the invitation were directed at him.

"Well aren't you cute?" The blonde scoffed.

"Don't talk to Arthur." The Spanish boy suddenly said. "You can tell Felix sorry, but we aren't interested."

"Ah, you will all be missed."

With that they left, the English boy feeling slightly cold after their dispute. His rare, violet eyes were cold enough that they burned. Although his appearance was charming he had a suffocating air around him that made it impossible to breathe normally in his presence.

"Well, he is an arse." Arthur said to break the tension.

"Still, you can't lash out like that Tilly. He's fucked up you know, he might attack you."

"I can take him."

"Bull shit!" The Spaniard grabbed the irritated Australian's arm. "You can talk tough all you want, but you're still a girl. If you do that again I'll tell Alfred and see how he reacts." She tried to whip her hand back but was unsuccessful in moving her friend.

"So, I can't handle him because I'm a girl? You're not my brother Toni so don't treat me like a child!"

"That's not what I'm saying. Stop, and think about this!"

"Not to seem intrusive. But I really don't understand anything that's happening."

"Sorry Arthur." The brunet boy said and released the girl who rubbed her arm where he had latched onto her. They were silent until reaching the table which was bathed in sunlight, possibly because Alfred was sitting there already and laughing. "I'm going to my locker now." Toni stated and the two took their seats. Upon noticing the new addition to the group Arthur nudged the Spanish boy and motioned with his head to her.

"Hey, Bella." Toni smiled lazily momentarily forgetting his need to leave, "what are you doing here?"

She gave a bubbly smile, about to answer when Francis cut across her. "Why, she is 'ere to see me of course."

"No seriously." He laughed.

"Aren't I always?"

"…So, Bella, what are you doing here?" He asked again, ignoring the obviously impossible notions passed on by his good friend.

"I didn't believe it either, but they're dating, apparently." Alfred spoke up.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Bella whined only to be hugged from behind by her new boyfriend who she leaned into, giggling when he rubbed his unshaven chin on her cheek.

"Really?" Arthur said, still sceptical after seeing little to no redeemable qualities the man may possess. "Congratulations, I guess." Was the natural but dry response.

"Ah, Arthur, I know you still love me, but you must let go, I am wiz my Belle now." He said, receiving a smack from Alfred who was pouting.

"As if he'd like you." Francis laughed and looked around at his friends briefly before allowing his gaze to rest on the Australian girl. She looked miserable and, as usual, was being neglected by her so called boyfriend who was too busy bickering with his new British toy.

"Can we go?" Tilly asked Jean who briefly looked at Francis. Francis was looking at Matilda, Bella was looking at Francis, Arthur was arguing with Alfred, Gilbert and Mathew were God knows where and Toni had left to go to his locker. "Of course," the French girl answered and they left without the American boy so much as noticing.

Kiku had returned to school but had made plans to tutor Vash in the library. Alfred frowned at this and teased him for being 'antisocial' in order to mask the betrayal he wished he didn't feel. After all, Vash was friends with Ivan.

"Hey, hey Arthur!" Al exclaimed shaking his shoulder and earning a slap on the offending hand. "This guy, Felix, is having a party, come with us!"

"I'm not exactly the party type. Oh, and Ivan will be there." He stated wishing he had an aspirin to deal with his daily headaches. The American's face fell and Francis looked over at them curiously. "I just thought you should know."

"Screw that then." The party suddenly didn't seem like an inviting event.

* * *

Gilbert was humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme song as he looked for a book on politics the library catalogue had lied and said it had in stock. He moved to the rhythm knowing that people were staring at him and assuming it was because of his air of awesome. He slipped out the book and mentally apologise for calling the catalogue a liar then made his way to the counter. The librarian, a stodgy brunette woman in her fifties looked at the book through crescent moon glasses and scoffed at the choice. It had been borrowed once since 1994 and it was rather out of character for the albino boy to spend his lunch times searching for a book. "Politics?" She asked sceptically.

"Got a problem with it? I do legal studies."

"Right." She stamped the return date and turned, leaving it on the counter and going back to her coffee in the room behind her.

The German boy slid the book towards him and under his arm mimicking the woman behind her back. He was going to leave when Vash came in and they crossed each other. "Hey!" Gil exclaimed with a grin having not spoken to his friend in weeks.

"Hi, I can't talk now, I'm meeting someone."

"Oh, a date?" He teased.

"Something like that." There was a hint of flirtation in his tone which made the Albino's face drop from the smirk.

"Whoa, I was kidding. Who is it?"

"As was I." He sighed sounding exhausted. "I'll talk to you later."

"No, hey." He grabbed Vash's arm who shot him an icy look. "Is everything alright? You're getting enough to eat?"

Flushed from the embarrassment of his personal circumstances, the Swiss teen pulled him arm free. "I'm fine Gilbert, it's none of your business."

"If you need a loan then-."

"I don't want your money." He sighed irately. He understood his friend's concern but it could be exasperating to deal with. "Thanks for worrying, but you don't have to." The German's hand suddenly shot, his fist connecting with the wall behind them and dangerously close to the blonde's head. He was shocked for a second, his heart rate increased from the intense glare he received and he backed up against the surface to escape the look.

"Don't you fucking lie to me." Seethed the albino.

"Calm down Gil." Vash contained his anger in favour of taming his wild friend. Gilbert's hand slipped down and fell to his side. "I'm getting paid tomorrow, don't worry."

"You know I'm not the kind of guy that's worried about tomorrow. I want to know why you're spending your lunch in the library when it's clear you haven't eaten anything."

"Like I said, tomorrow-."

"That's not good enough!" He snapped pulling a wallet out. "You can be so unawesome." Twenty dollars was thrust at the blond who sneered at the money but took it to silence his friend's complaints.

"Now I have to go."

"Fine." And with that they parted. Their strange relationship was determined by the fact that they were once best friends. After orphaned Vash became disconnected with the world around him and even shunned Gilbert from his life. When he recovered from the initial shock and came to the conclusion that he would need help to get out of this rut he went to Ivan and not his long-time friend. This created tension between them. They had little to nothing in common anymore, but the memory of their friendship bound them and created obligations.

* * *

Alfred laughed spilling his chips all over the table and spitting chunks of food on Arthur who fumed silently about it. He was the only one at the table amused by Gilbert's jokes which were often crude and childish. "What's the difference between a pile of dead babies and a Ferrari?"

"W-what?" Al tried to laugh, now gasping for breath.

"I don't have a Ferrari in my garage." The two continued on like this for the entire lunch until the albino asked Alfred. "Are you going to Felix's this weekend?"

"Nah, Ivan's going."

"…Fuck Al, you're going to let that guy ruin your life."

"After high school-."

"This isn't just going to go away." He stated while Francis spoke over top of him, "enough mon cher."

Arthur sighed; everyone seemed to know about what happened to the American except him. It was time they answered some bloody questions but it didn't seem fair for him to bring it up.

"You're right." Alfred looked distressed. "I'll go, heroes have to face the villain eventually, right?"

Everyone was silent, sympathetic to him until Bella spoke up. "You know, this whole deal is pretty confusing, anyone wanna fill me in?" She looked around expectantly.

No one answered, each looking at the blonde who was the ultimate authority in this. "Sorry Bella, it's not something we usually talk about out loud. Forget about it."

"Aw, come one. I won't tell anyone, please!" She smiled but Al just shook his head with an expression of pure nostalgia.

"I'm gunna put my books away before the bell rings." He stated standing to leave.

"Alfred," Arthur chased after him, easily closing the distance between the two and tugging on the sleeve of his bomber jacket. "Are you alright?"

"Of course." He flashed a forced grin which dissolved under the frown he received. "…not."

"I'm not going to ask you what happened, don't worry." The English boy said quickly. "I don't think you should feel obliged to go to this party if you're uncomfortable with it. Hero or not."

"Sorry."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Sorry for lying to you." He laughed but it was full of bitter regret.

"Lying to me about what?"

"I'm not a hero." Al walked quickly now so that the two reached the classroom before he said what had to be said. He shut the door and proceeded over to his locker, naturally the Brit asked what he meant by that which cause him to sigh and bring a hand up to his face.

"It's alright, we've all done things we aren't proud of, it doesn't change your intentions or values."

"Arthur…"

"You're a good person Alfred, no matter what you've done, okay?"

"…I pushed my brother off a balcony. I'm the reason he's in that wheel chair. I tried to kill him."

* * *

Sleepy author... goodnight~

Review :)


	14. I did this

This story is officially twice as long as anything else I've written! And it really is thanks to my readers... I tend to loose interest if I don't get feedback. I'm updating this DURING EXAMS for you guys as a thank you.

Really, thanks so much for your support: ZemyxDexion, What'sMyName'sBusiness, Hikaritears, xxalexisurgodxx, Tantei S, Miserylolita, sister momo, All Kinds Of Awesome, mudkiprox, Alphine, Wolfie832, mya3dan, m21012 and Tomoji-kun

For those of you who wanted Swipan mya3dan has started a fic that I can highly recomend~ I read it and loved it! So check it out! :D

* * *

Arthur simply stared at him, not knowing what to say. "You aren't pulling my leg are you?" He asked feeling his stomach twist into an uncomfortable knot.

"Not this time."

"Why did you-?"

"It's a long story."

"Alfred, please tell me." He pleaded and the American sighed; taking a seat in the empty classroom. "Sorry, but I really think I need to know this." He tried, hoping that he didn't sound too pushy.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you." The Brit sat next to him at the same desk, looking at him with the most earnest expression. "Can you not say anything though, until I'm done I mean."

"Of course."

"Alright, well." He took a shaky breath. "Back in first year, when I was fifteen, Ivan and me went out for a while." Arthur ignored the grammatical mistake and allowed him to continue. "I didn't really like him, but he- gave me… provided me with…" He exhaled and chewed on the bottom of his lip but still his friend said nothing. "With drugs."

At this the blonde took a sharp breath in, the foggy past clearing before him. "I was completely addicted and I hated it, we fought all the time but I would come crawling back every time for more. It felt like I was addicted to _him_. I would do whatever he wanted me to." He laughed bitterly. "So one really bad night, I'd done a huge dose of LSD, or at least I think that's what I had. I was at a party in an apartment, I can't remember whose it was… well whatever, I got high, really high, but I still hated myself. It was the strangest feeling, I just wanted to die."

Arthur placed his hand on his friend's, stroking it softly in a comforting manner. "So then I saw myself, or who I thought was me and I- I started to strangle him, I can't really remember what happened after that but the next thing I knew I was on the balcony and I pushed him over the edge. Francis was there, for once actually helpful and called an ambulance. When they asked what happened I wanted to come clean and tell them, but Francis told everyone it was an accident. We weren't really friends at that point, but he still wanted to protect me. He beat the shit out of me of course, later though. Still, he helped me get over my addiction. I wanted to tell everyone for months afterwards but he had already convinced Matt to lie for me." Al popped his lips then pressed them into a thin line and looked at the English teen. "Well, that's it."

"…Shit." Was all Arthur could manage then he stood up and hugged the other boy's head to his chest.

"I promise I'm clean now, so please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you Al." He stroked his friend's hair in a soothing manner. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're the first person I've told, the only people that know are: Francis, Gil, Tilly, Toni, Jean and Kiku. Well, then us of course, Matt and Ivan. They were all there at the time though." He closed his eyes, still being embraced. "God knows who he told."

A feeling of warmth spread through the Brit involuntarily. Alfred trusted him above anyone. That was the only explanation. "Even heroes make mistakes," He murmured. It was silent enough that the wall clock could be heard ticking but the noise outside was drowned out by the closed door. "You're still a strong person to have given it up."

"Thanks, but it doesn't change what I did. I'll help Matty in whatever way I can. I fucked up his life pretty bad; I'd do anything for him."

"I know," he felt arms slip around his waist, Al's breath hot as it seeped through his top onto his chest. "Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?" He asked simply to break the silence.

"Wha- really?" He looked up then stood, sliding his lingering hands back to his side but trailing over the other's hips first. They both blushed.

"Yes 'really'." He teased

"Wow, you've never invited me over before!" He smiled. Of course Arthur was only trying to make him feel better, it was an awkward subject that neither member felt they could expand on or question. "So, do I just come home with you after school?"

"Well, you parked your car today, so we can take that."

Alfred was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Cool! Okay! I just have to tell Matt and Tilly!"

"Why do you need to tell Tilly?" Arthur asked frowning slightly in confusion.

"Well, I was gunna go shopping with her this afternoon, but whatever, we can go another day."

"Oh, for goodness sakes, if you're busy you can come over tomorrow."

"Nooooooo," he whined pulling on the end of his friend's sweater vest. "Really, she won't care."

"In that case… do you want to invite her over as well?" Arthur was a gentleman, no matter how much it hurt him or got in his way. It wasn't ethically right for him not to invite her after Alfred had selfishly made plans then cancelled them for what he viewed as the better offer.

"Oh, yeah, alright." He sounded slightly deflated then suggested. "I'll ask her, we have English together."

"Alright." The two smiled at each other as if the past could be forgotten. Arthur was tense as they left, fully believing Alfred's story and hating the way Ivan had toyed with him. He thought about how unfair this was on the victim, Matthew, and admired the boy now more than ever for forgiving his brother. It was a lot to take on and he was desperately afraid of letting the American believe for a moment that this changed anything and this had led to the invitation.

* * *

Arthur had English that afternoon with Antonio, Gilbert and Francis who, he had been told, were a troublesome trio but so far had caused him no harm. With Gilbert as the main influence they often acted up, smart mouthed the teacher and didn't pay attention. They had apparently settled down in their final year after being the schools prankster delinquents. As to why they were still trusted in the same class… it was a mystery.

Toni yawned and covered his mouth before slamming his head down onto the table. "Need a nap?" Gilbert asked with his head in his hand and a lazy smile.

"A siesta would be amazing."

"…A nap's a nap Toni, don't go giving it fancy names."

"Zut alors, and it is only Wednesday." Francis groaned in agreement. Arthur was seated next to Toni on the end while Gil sat on the corner in a line. The tables made up an awkward box shape that was open at the end for the teacher's desk but connected the entire classroom.

"Cheer up, we're starting Hamlet today." Of course the irony of the tragedy went unnoticed by the Brit. The trio stared at him as if he had spouted nonsense (which of course he hadn't). "What?"

"You're very enthusiastic for a Wednesday afternoon." Toni observed, smiling and reminding everyone how optimistic he could be.

"In English." Gil added.

"It must be because 'e is sitting so close to me." Francis reasoned and Arthur frowned.

"Belt up." He pulled the play out of his bag and prepared for what would be an interesting lesson… if the three would stop snickering at him.

* * *

Kiku and Vash sat facing each other, the Japanese teen slightly flushed from having the boy sitting so close to him as his personal space bubble generally expanded in public. He was fairly impressed by how quickly Vash understood differentiation after struggling with simple parabolas earlier. "That's correct," he praised the Swiss boy who beamed a rare smile at the progress he'd made.

"I feel bad for forcing you to miss lunch to help me." He sighed.

"You aren't forcing me, please don't think that."

"Still, I can't really pay you, but here." He offered Kiku his only twenty dollar note.

"Vash-san…"

"You should at least buy yourself something to eat with this."

"Don't think I'm so materialistic, if you want to repay me then do well on the next exam."

"That's not good enough-."

"We're friends aren't we? This is a favour." Kiku rolled his eyes which even he felt was uncharacteristic; when the money was still thrust at him he smiled. "If you fell you must thank me then just say so."

"Huh?"

"Say thank you."

"Oh… yes, thank you very much." He tucked Gilbert's money away. "Really, this helps."

"You're welcome." They stared at each other unsure whether this conversation would lead to anything more until the Japanese boy ducked his head and suggested they continue with the next question.

"Sit with me in maths." Vash half suggested and half ordered earning a look of surprise. "You always taught the class before and yesterday you sat by yourself." He reasoned. "You seem uncomfortable, not that I blame you, so sit with me."

"Thank you." He said shyly.

"It's no problem." And with that the two went back to their work in the ironically loud library. By the end of the hour they both felt satisfied by the amount they had covered and made their way to English. Alfred waved him over and Vash shrugged when he was asked if he minded if he sat with Al. Ivan happened to be in this class and of course sat next to Vash and Yao who had been cold towards Kiku since walking in on the two in his bathroom.

Kiku dismissed it remembering how jealous the Chinese boy could get. His possessive nature was most likely linked to their primary school experience when the Japanese teen was bullied constantly and sought protection from him. They clung to each other. When he first arrived in America he went straight into grade four not speaking a word of English. Yao was fascinated by the loner child and being the patient boy he was tried communicating with the only tools he had at his disposal. A pen and paper.

"_I'm Yao-aru." He smiled at the younger boy who fidgeted in his remarkably cute and over-sized clothing. _

"_Kiku." Was the only word he managed to receive. _

"_Kiku? Nice to meet you!" The only hope they had in communicating was tone until he remembered that the two cultures shared one similar script. Taking a green connecter marker from his pencil case he drew the symbol for tree in the back of his English book and pointed to the tree. "Tree-aru." He said slowly with a smile. Kiku looked shocked but understood the Kanji._

"_Tlee-alu?"_

"_No, tree."_

"_Tlee?" He struggled with the 'r' sound causing the Asian boy to laugh and in turn the other followed suit. _

"_Good!" The situation was ridiculous and they both knew it, but it was a start. Kiku was enrolled in English classes and caught on quickly, fluent by the time he was twelve. Yao and Kiku were closer than the average pair of best friends and the older boy felt a duty of protection to the younger who clung to him. From their first meeting the two were inseperable._

Yao gave him an icy look from across the table then flipped his copy of Hamlet open. "It's a tragedy." Alfred said as if reading his mind, Kiku looked at him shocked to find that the only thing he was reading was the back of his copy of the play. "I'm so sick of tragedies." He sighed in a nostalgic, end-of-the-day sort of way. Tilly came in minutes later and took her seat next to her boyfriend.

"Hey, sorry for walking out on you guys." She laughed, pretending the entire thing was an accident.

"You did? I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Oh you were paying attention," to Arthur. She didn't say the last bit no matter how tempting. "So, we still on for this afternoon?"

"Hmm? Right, no, sorry." He started quickly with a grimace. "I totally forgot, I promised Artie I'd help him with his maths today, can we go tomorrow?" Tilly's stomach lurched and her face fell.

"Yeah, okay." She opened her copy of the play. "Next time tell me earlier." She wasn't jealous. She didn't care. But suddenly (and for something totally unrelated) she didn't like Arthur as much.

"You aren't pissed, are you?" He wasn't sure why he couldn't invite her. It wasn't because it would be awkward or she would be out of place, it was more that for the first time he really didn't want anyone else around him.

"No, don't worry about it." She gave an obviously fake smile which Kiku saw through and sighed at. Alfred could be a world class moron. After brooding in class for the hour she stood up with a quick good bye and left. Her head was ducked slightly and she hugged the books tightly to her chest. The familiar feeling of rejection resinated from within her and made her feel sick.

"Matilda!" Called a sing-song voice and the girl looked up to see Francis smiling down at her. "Are you not waiting for Alfred?"

"No, he bailed on me. He's hanging out with Arthur this afternoon." She half laughed then her face froze when she realised that no matter how light a tone she used her resentment shone through.

"So zen, are you busy zis afternoon?"

"Not anymore, why?" She perked up slightly.

"Voulez-vous venir chez-moi?" (Do you want to come to mine?) Francis offered and she shrugged.

"Alright, is anyone else coming?"

"Non, pas aujourd'hui." (No, not today) Tilly smiled at this; Francis was her best guy friend whom she saw little of due to her dating Alfred and trying to keep in touch with her girl friends. She leant on him lazily, linking arms with the boy to support her weight and they talked. They had hardly spoken recently and missed each other's company. The bus ride to Francis's was anything but quiet as the two spoke in a confusing way, mixing both languages if a word was forgotten or did not come to mind quickly enough.

"I was thinking about dying my hair blonde." She stated, lying on Francis's queen sized mattress and bringing her arm across her face.

"Is zis about what Alfred said?" Earlier, that Monday the group had been discussing what hair colour was most attractive and the American had truthfully admitted that he liked blondes.

"Oui." (Yes)

"Tu es jaloux?" (Are you jealous?) He asked while unbuttoning his shirt and discarding it in the clothing basket.

"Un peu. Mais Je pense que je suis stupide." (A bit. But I think I'm being stupid.)

"Non, c'est normal. (No, that's normal) Francis reasoned, sitting at the edge of the bed shirtless. She peaked beneath her arm which covered her eyes and smirked.

"Et où est votre blouse, Monsieur?" (And where's your shirt, Mr?) She teased poking his stomach with an arched foot.

"Tilly, why are you still wiz Alfred?" Her face fell and she rolled onto her side; dark hair tangling on Francis's pillow. He was stroking her feet gently; the light touches tickling her slightly.

"Shepas."* (I don't know) She gave a bitter laugh and lolled onto her back only to meet Francis's intense stare.

"Be honest wiz me." He placed a hand on her other side, trapping the girl in place. "You do not love 'im and 'e does not love you. So why continue zis?"

Feeling uncomfortable she tried to sit up only to find herself crashing into the unmoving figure. "Get off me." She snapped feeling her face flush. "It's none of your business anyway Francis, it's for Al and I to figure out."

"je m'intéresse vraiment à toi et tu le save." (I care about you a lot and you know it.) He said sternly causing her to wriggle backwards. "Je t'aime, Matil-." (I love you Matil-.)

"Tais-toi!" (Shut up!) She cried on the verge of a break down. "Just shut up!" Tilly pushed the toned arm away from her and stood.

"Matilda!" He shouted, panicked when she started for the door. He shut it from behind and hugged her around the waist. "I'm sorry! Je suis desole." (I'm sorry).

"Get lost!" She whipped away the tears before he could see them and pulled at his arms but he hushed her softly. "You don't even care! At least with Al I'm safe." She sniffed, that nauseous feeling returned resulting in her belting the boy in the stomach and bolting for the bathroom at the end of the hall. She hunched over the toilet bowl and threw up again, what little substance she had left after leaving lunch early. The boy groaned having the wind knocked out of him but struggled towards his friend.

"Matilda…" Francis grabbed at her hair and wrenched it behind her head, holding it back to ensure it stayed clean. "Merde." (Shit).

After she was finished she grabbed at her stomach and collapsed to the floor, whipping her mouth with the toilet paper Francis offered to her. Coming to sit on his hind legs beside her the half-naked French boy frowned. "Sorry." She almost stuttered, covering her face with the sheet of toilet paper.

"I thought zat you were over zis…"

"It's not a cold, Francis, you don't just get over it." She snapped then turned her head away from him and leant back against the white, tiled walls with a miserable smile.

"What do you mean, zat you are safe wiz Alfred?"

"…Alfred's so popular that if I break up with him then I'm the bad guy." She reasoned laughing and lolling her head down. "The only reason anyone likes me, bloody hell, the reason they look at me is because we're dating. If I'm not with him then people don't see me." Tilly's arm latched firmly onto her stomach. "I j-just can't handle being by myself." She started to cry. "I hated having no one, I-I can't kee-eep bottling things up with no one to vent t-to."

Francis put an arm around her and pulled her into his chest. "Je t'aime, et cela ne changera pas." (I love you and that won't change). "Je te vais toujours prendre sois. (I will always care for you)*. She melted slightly into him and they embraced as they once did.

"Merci…" (Thank you).

* * *

Nnnnnn... don't like this so much...

And that is the story of Mathew and Alfred's past... anyone else think it's just kinda funny that even America thought Canada was America? Gosh I love this show.

So, I really don't plan to put Tilly and Francis together in the end because I like FrancexJean… but we'll see how we go I guess.  
Things are starting to get moving... I wonder what's going to happen during dinner at Arthur's house *whistles innocently*

See you next time~

*Shepas: colloquial for 'Je ne sais pas', kind of like 'I dunno'.

*Je te vais toujours prendre sois: my French is VERY bad… so don't quote me on that translation… The others should be at least understandable.

Review please!


	15. This is how it starts

(Shout out to my friend, Kate, who actually did paint the underside of her desk in art class XD I love you!)

Exams are over!

Thanks to: Wolfie832, sister momo, UnluckyWriter, Loveless-Gin, Tomoji-kun, Miserylolita, ZemyxDexion, m21012, What'sMyName'sBusiness, Nomi and cbf signing in (lol, I know how you feel)  
I love you guys~

* * *

Alfred blasted Miley Cyrus on the radio for God knows what reasons singing along to the song 'Party in the USA' and admittedly, he was rather good. Arthur decided to let this behaviour slide this time as they had both had a stressful day and needed to relax in their own ways. Al was rambling about how awesome Mr Vargas was and recounted about the time that he had been bored in art class. "So then me, Toni, Gil and Francis painted the underside of the table this blue colour. These freshmen came in and sat on the stools but when their knees hit the desk they got their legs covered in paint! It was classic!" He laughed and Arthur chuckled.

"And you didn't get in trouble?"

"Nope! Mr Vargas gave them all an A on their assignments and they were happy!" There was a mischievous grin on his face. "We said it was an accident… he told us not to do it again, but whatever."

"Remind me to never get you angry, I paid a lot for these jeans."

"Yeah, and you iron them daily." The American received a smack over the back of his head. "But I like you, so your jeans shall be spared my wrath."

"How gracious of you."

"Dun mention it."

He pulled up in Scott's drive way and smiled at the familiar house, walking with his friend to the door and into his home when Arthur gestured to it. Not sparing a second he slipped his shoes off and dumped his bag then jogged into the kitchen where Peter was. "Hey Pete!" He called and the young boy frowned.

"You're back again?"

"Don't sound too pleased." Arthur scoffed walking straight to the kettle to prepare a cup of tea. "Really, I taught you better."

"Yes 'dad'." He said moodily, returning to his homework.

"Need help?" Al asked, taking a seat and grinning at the pouting child. "Oh, algebra, my favourite." He rubbed his hands together and without invitation picked up a pen and drew a big red cross over some of the working out.

"What? That's wrong?"

"Yep."

"Alfred, do you want coffee?"

"That would be awesome."

He was practically family now thanks to him coming over in the mornings and often stalking his friend home. Peter secretly loved Al and the free tutoring and coaching he provided him with. He was like the big brother he'd always wanted unlike two he was saddled with. "Are you two dating yet?"

Arthur flushed from humiliation and Alfred shut his mouth with a confused look. "Peter! Don't be rude!"

"What? It was just a question."

"We aren't, but it would be none of your business even if we were." He sounded defensive; the room was effectively silent save for the bubbling kettle.

"It's cool Arthur, the kid was curious 's'all." The American tried to calm his friend with a grin.

"No he's trying to wind me up. Go upstairs, now." Peter grumbled but decided against annoying his irritable brother further. There was only so much he could take. He left, mumbling about his 'bastard' of a brother.

"Miserable sod." The Brit muttered and poured the two beverages. Al came to stand next to him, accepting the drink but waiting for it to cool down.

Arthur blew on it then sipped thoughtfully, not realising how desperate he had been for this cup of tea. "You know, if you blow on drinks you change the acidity level." The blonde said earning a look of interest from his shorter boy.

"Really?"

"Yeah you blow carbon into it; it's better to wait until it cools."

"Hmm." The two had yet to even squabble yet which made Alfred nervous. He felt confident that telling Arthur about what had happened would only strengthen their friendship but the brave faces they each put on were clear masks. As strange as it may have seemed, he was itching to fight with his friend to help them both get over this awkward phase where they were unsure how to treat one another.

"I watched this documentary that said that Americans have the most superior brains in the world." He lied.

Arthur cocked an eye brow at him and gave a half-lidded look of disbelief. "An American documentary no doubt."

"Well, that proves it's true. I think it's right."

"You're American, your opinion is invalid."

"You're invalid."

"You're a child."

"Your face is invalid!"

At this Arthur just stared at him then cracked a small smile. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Alfred?"

Caught in the act he looked at his feet and shrugged. "You've been acting weird, thought I'd try to stir you up a bit."

"Weird? You mean because we haven't been arguing?" Al just nodded and gave sigh.

"For goodness sakes Al, we don't fight all the time! You're only noticing it now because of this afternoon." He laughed. "Stop being paranoid." They each sipped their drinks.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry."

"You don't have to apologise." Arthur laughed taking his empty cup and leaving it in the sink for Peter to clean later. "Come on, I'll help you with your English notes." The American perked up and followed him like a puppy up the stairs. In the room they managed to finish all their homework and tutor each other in subjects they each struggled with.

"Hey can I ask a really, really big favour of you?"

"I suppose." Arthur furrowed his brows at the agitated teen.

"Come to Felix's party with me." While flattered by the dependence the other felt on their friendship he exhaled a breath and lay down on his bed which they sat sprawled on. "Please?" He added as the icing on the cake.

"Alright." Sensing each other's discomfort Al lay down next to the Brit and grinned.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Scott came in minutes later but was unfazed by their guest's presence, waving at him and telling Arthur they would be eating late. They talked and watched TV on the small screen in his room until dinner. After the meal they went back to his room once more. They took it in turns playing music from the English teen's laptop from YouTube.

"You and Tilly like the same shit." Al laughed and Arthur threw a pillow at his face. While it could be interpreted that he was offended at his music style being referred to as 'shit' what he was most annoyed about was the way Al managed to bring his girlfriend into their conversation so frequently.

"How often do you see Tilly? Apart from at school?" He wondered hugging his fluffy weapon, ready to unleash it again if necessary.

The American boy sat up on the bed and grimaced. "If I tell you this, you can't go spreading it around."

"Okay…"

"I'm serious, even Gil doesn't know." What this could possibly have to do with how frequently he saw his girlfriend was a mystery. "She lives with me." Oh.

"Oh." Arthur's eyebrows would have rocketed to the moon were they not attached to his forehead. "But, when I came over she wasn't there…" He protested, hoping with no avail that his friend was lying.

"At Jean's."

"Why are you hiding this?" He asked with a frown, unable to comprehend what could be so bad that he was unable to tell some of his closest friends.

"Because rumours spread like oil on water and you know that." He sighed and sat back against the bed frame. "It's just easier if people don't think that we live together, you know?"

"I guess I understand that." Although it had him seething with jealousy. "But why doesn't she live with her parents?"

Al lolled his head down and curled into a loose ball. "Australia was rough on her and she really needed a fresh start. She had a falling out with them and since her parents and mine are tight we agreed to let her live here. Got her a visa, signed all the paper work and she was set." He smiled sadly. Arthur's heart sank slightly when he realised how close the two must be and wondered how he could compete with such a bond.

"Thank you Alfred."

"What for?"

"Trusting me with all of this." It wasn't a contest that he could part take in because there was no prize. Al had been claimed and until he was available again he would have to accept this. "It means a lot to me."

Their eyes met and again that magnetic force drew them together. The American's arm shot out and dragged his friend into a tight embrace. Words needed not to be spoken. The ticking clock on the wall was the only sound that filled the void. Neither wanted to move but they were both tense, sensing it was wrong and so the Brit pulled away with a flushed face. "I'll be right back."

Before the American could ask where he was going he'd stood up and shut the door. He slid down the wall and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alfred you are such a prat."

* * *

Kiku looked slightly less miserable in maths the next day sitting next to Vash and Yao. While the Chinese teen was still icy he'd mellowed off his brooding enough to not shun him when he sat with the pair. He'd even gone so far as to tell him to 'ignore Karpusi-aru' because he was a jerk.

In the lesson Vash ensured he sought help from Kiku as much as he could without looking like he'd suffered a blow to the head during his childhood. He moved closer, put an arm around the back of his chair to lean in and fixed the Japanese boy's hair, all while the teacher was looking. Both Yao and Kiku were confused but the Chinese boy had understood the motives by the end of the lesson while the other was left in the dark. "Thank you for your help today." Vash said in a stoic tone, standing with his two friends.

"It was no problem." Kiku smiled warmly but felt his stomach churn realising they were the only three left in the class room save for their fully awake teacher. Vash bent down and abruptly kissed his cheek earning a scowl from Yao.

Heracles was stunned seeing his former lover turn a deep red and they turned to face each other. Kiku ducked his head and hurried from the class room and Yao followed after him. Walking at an agonisingly slow pace the student and teacher's gazes clashed; Heracles with a look of shock while Vash was smirking in a torturous way and was headed for the exit.

"Sorry, I should know better than to do those sorts of things in public."

Heracles frowned and clenched his fist wondering how many years sentence he would receive for assaulting a student. Not many more than sleeping with one most likely. "You should see if he's okay." _Because I can't,_ he thought standing up and going to wipe off his notes on the board.

"You're a teacher, isn't that your job?" He snapped having not gained a satisfactory reaction.

"My job is to teach students."

"Interesting, I wonder if you taught anyone other than Kiku." He scoffed. "Oh, for that matter, I wonder _what_ you taught him."

"Whatever he told yo-."

"He didn't tell me anything, you should learn to shut your door." And with that Vash slammed it closed and chased after his humiliated friend. Heracles' hand was shaking with the eraser in it. He sat in his chair to keep steady and brought both hands up to shield his face. No matter how he hid he could not hide from his mistakes nor could he confront them. So he did the only logical thing he could think of. He pulled out a piece of paper and started drafting a letter of resignation.

Nothing good ever happened when Vash followed Kiku into the bathroom. Yao was in there with him already, explaining that his plan was to make Heracles jealous as a revenge ploy.

The younger boy was against it. "I don't want to do anything to upset him." He claimed and Yao sighed.

"Why not-aru?"

"Because it was my fault."

"How is it your fault?" Vash asked coming and standing with the two. Kiku looked stressed and his eyes were glazed over suggesting he was ready to break. "I taunted Karpusi, I kissed you and I told him off. You've done nothing wrong."

"I- no, I mean…" He looked down feeling Yao's hand on his shoulder; rubbing his back in a soothing manner. "He tried to break up with me and I wouldn't listen. I should have stayed away from him."

"What he did was wr-."

"He was desperate to get rid of me!" Now almost hysterical and tense Kiku crossed his arms over his stomach as stress often made him ill. "It was a last resort. So it is my fault."

"Cut it out." Vash said icily, "you're acting ridiculous, it's over and there's nothing you can do to fix that."

"Vash!" Yao scolded him.

The Japanese teen turned his head irately and snapped, "You can't say that after you purposefully tried to interfere!"

"To help you get over this."

"It was horrible."

"It's to speed up the process and prove that he's still the one at fault here! Get over him! He's not the only person in the world!"

"Both of you stop it-aru!" The oldest shouted which echoed off the walls and through the empty room. A tenth grader took this opportunity to escape from the stall he had been hiding in and ran past the three who were glaring at each other. "Vash! Stop interfering because you aren't helping! Kiku, get over him-aru! I'll be in English."

Yao walked by Vash giving him a sharp punch to the arm and scowling at Kiku who withered at the look. The blonde rubbed his arm where he's been abused and frowned at the Japanese boy. "It was wrong for me to interfere. Sorry."

"It was. But I apologise for losing my temper with you. You were trying to help." The silent walk to English class from the bathroom had never been so long or awkward.

* * *

After maths class Friday Kiku stayed back, promised Vash and Yao that he would meet them after and waited until he was alone with the teacher. Heracles knew the confrontation was inevitable and let out a tired sigh, unable to yawn but not totally awake. "I just want to know if I could have done anything different." He said in a quiet voice and the Greek man stood to shut the door.

"I'm sorr-."

"Don't bother apologising because I won't forgive you for what you did. I just want to know."

"Then no, it has nothing to do with you. If you were older or I was younger than-." He paused seeing tears falling from his student's eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you, but it was the only way to protect us both, it's what I had to do, so, it's what I did."

"You didn't do it to protect me." He insisted in a low hiss.

"You're still naïve; you don't think I'd be the only one in trouble. It would be far more severe, but… ultimately you're at fault also. You're so smart; I'm not going to damage your future."

"You didn't have to-."

"One of the reasons I find you endearing is that you won't listen to reason, but this time I insist you forget everything."

"I can't."

"You have to."

"You're lying." He closed the distance between them so that he stood inches away from his teacher and clutched both of his shoulders tightly, shaking him. "You only care about yourself!"

"I don't care about what happens to me. You're friend, Vash, right? He seemed eager to spread rumours. I'd rather him say this was one sided. In fact." He reached to his pocket and to Kiku's horror with drew a phone. He went to his contacts and picked out the number to the principal's office. "You can call and say you were raped." As his finger slid over to the green button the Japanese boy smacked his hand so the phone fell between them, hit the floor and the battery skid away.

He clenched his teeth and tried to supress his tears but found it inevitable that they should fall. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you're important to me."

"You can't say that!" He yelled whipping his moist cheeks with his grey jumper sleeves. "Then expect me to forget everything."

"I know… I'm sorry." Overcome with the longing to kiss his student's head he settled for resting a hand on the mop. "You're an amazing person, you'll find someone who's good for you."

"But I only want you."

* * *

It seemed that everyone had dreaded Friday coming. Alfred was tense; no matter how much he smiled it was obvious. Noticing this Gil might have felt guilty but was far too awesome for such a lowly emotion. Besides, it would be good for him, right?

Alfred had picked Arthur up at eight to take him to the party. His depression faded momentarily upon seeing his friend who, for the first time since they had met, was wearing something other than a dress shirt or sweater vest. His dark jeans were tight and ripped in various places and were held up by a thick black and silver studded belt. He wore a shirt with a union jack spread across it but again the sleeves had seen better days and over all of this hung a black, leather jacket. "Dude." Al managed to choke out. "Cool converses."

The Brit frowned and looked at the red and black shoes. "Um. Thank you." He walked his friend to the car where Tilly and Jean sat in the back fussing over each other's hair and double checking their eye liner hadn't smudged. "You both look nice." He said, just to be polite.

"Whoa, Arthur, you're hot." Matilda eyed him. She wore a green short dress that was tight and had a low cut v-neck.

Spluttering at the compliment he turned from the front seat to face the two properly. "Aren't I always?"

"Fine, then exceptionally tonight. Trying to catch anyone's attention in particular?" She cooed flirtatiously batting her eye lids.

"Sorry Tilly, but we both know zat 'e loves me more." Jean blew him a kiss and winked at the English boy. Jean was wearing a designer dress that, again, was short but black and billowed slightly at the front due to a tight white belt that she had around her waist.

"He likes me best, don't ya?" Alfred joined in and Arthur smirked.

"You're all wrong. I hate all of you sods. No offence or anything."

"Right, well, you're walking." The younger boy swerved the car over then back, throwing the passengers from side to side.

"Bloody hell Alfred!" Arthur yelled holding onto the handle bar for dear life.

"Kidding!"

"Fuck!" Jean yelled and Tilly laughed, throwing her head back.

"If you do that again I will walk." He slapped the American who continued to giggle at his stunt. "Twat."

* * *

I love sexual tension...

Review please~


	16. What ever this is

Hello again! I appologise for the late chapter but I found out I have tendonitus (basically, my wrist hurts some times) and that made it difficult to type this up because my tendons were swollen badly.

Anyways... thanks again to: Wolfie832, Randomanime456,ZemyxDexion, Alphine, Miserylolita, Tomojo-kun, mya3dan, Hikari-Tales-Yaoi-fangirl, An Insomniac Named Momo, sister momo, nomi and m21012

:) on with the drama!

* * *

Alfred pulled up two streets away, grimacing when he saw the amount of cars around the area. They walked up with the girls chatting at the back and the boys in front. The American was tense having avoided these gatherings for almost two years. Arthur saw this and nudged him with his elbow. "We can stand at the wall all night if you want. I don't really mind."

"That's so lame." He laughed. "Don't be a wall flower."

He jabbed him again and frowned. "I'm not! I was saying it for your sake."

"Don't worry about me, a'ight? Just have fun." Music could be heard from the end of the street which made the group believe the police would eventually shut them down. Until then-.

"Yo!" Felix opened the door before they were even at the top of the stairs. "You're, like, late guys!"

"S'up man?" Al grinned coming up and giving the Polish boy a quick and friendly hug.

"Hey." Matilda approached him next throwing her arms around him. Jean gave him a kiss on each cheek and thanked him for inviting them. He looked expectedly at Arthur who recognised the boy from his history class.

"Thank yo-."

"Whoa, I was like, not expecting you to come. You look totally hot." He hugged the Brit who froze stiff then patted him on the back. "Okay, so come in! Hurry up!" They were ushered into the pulsating house which had well over seventy people in it with more expected to arrive. The house was large but relatively empty due to Felix emptying out rooms to make way for his guests. "Eat, drink, dance, drink and stay out of my parent's bedroom!" He yelled over the music then left them. Arthur could feel a headache coming on already.

Matilda and Jean left to talk with their girlfriends leaving the boys to stand awkwardly at the side. "Want me to get you something to drink?" Al asked.

"I can get it myself." He huffed leading the two into the kitchen. It was there that the pair spotted Kiku who looked completely lost and out of place save for him being drawn closely into a circle by Vash. He had an arm around the Japanese boy's back and a hand on his waist. At this Alfred was hurt and looked away from the pair towards the stairs where a couple were making out. Arthur went to the counter and took two beers from an ice box. "Here." He handed one to the distracted teen.

"Thanks man." He shouted over the music.

"Do you want to look for everyone?"

"Yeh, alright." And so they set off through swarms of people to find anyone that they vaguely knew.

The bad friends trio were upstairs in Felix's house; Gilbert was patting his pockets with an empty beer bottle. "Hey, anyone seen my phone?"

"Oui, it's up my ass." Francis said, laughing at his own joke due to a slight intoxication. Bella giggled from beside him and nipped playfully at his neck.

"Well, you'll enjoy that, it's set to vibrate." He muttered then swore, "Shit, if Ludwig calls some dipstick here answers it he's gonna flip."

"Didn't you tell him where you were going?" Toni asked shooting back spirits before grimacing at the taste.

"Nah, he'd probably send a spy or whatever." He was now patting Francis down then turned and did the same to Antonio who lifted one eyebrow as if to ask why he was being felt up. "Just checking; crap, where'd I put it?"

"Didn't you lend it to that Swiss friend of yours?" Bella asked helpfully. "I'll come with, I want to see if Jean's here yet."

"I'll stay up here, it's quieter… slightly." Toni smiled then tugged on Francis's rolled up jumper sleeve signalling for him to stay.

"Yes, we will catch up with you later." He said following his friends lead and smiling at the group who left with a quick 'see ya'.

"What is it?"

"Tilly called me last night."

"… Fantastique, why?"

Antonio scowled a frown that would frighten anyone that knew him and punched his friend in the gut enough to wind him. Francis groaned and grabbed at his stomach then sunk to the floor. "Don't fuck around with me." He said in a menacingly soft voice. "You're screwing with all of your friends and if you don't watch it you're going to lose them." A few people turned to look slightly startled but lost interest when they saw the French boy was fine.

He stood up still holding the abused area with his hand but simply glared at his friend and walked away. In all honesty Francis didn't know what he wanted and this resulted in him often hurting the people closest to him. Tilly had avoided him after going to his house and Jean was icy enough that when he approached her he froze on the spot under her glare. By doing what he wanted he would have the girl he liked but hurt one of his best guy friends, a girl who was like his sister and his girlfriend whom he found endearing.

Matilda stood with her girlfriends laughing and shooting back vodka easily as if it were something natural that she could stomach. "Tilly, je voudrais un moment." (can I have a minute?) He whispered in her ear and the tipsy teen pivoted; her face fell and glazed eyes narrowed at him. "Please?"

"Yeah, sure." She excused herself; Jean lifted one eyebrow but ignored her irritation to enjoy the social atmosphere. Being in their final year was mentally exhausting and left them little time to just relax. It was nearing the end of the term meaning that the work load was lessening now and gave them more time to go to parties and just hang out.

Tilly crossed her arms having been led towards the door. "We're going outside?"

"Oui, c'est trop bruyant (yeah, it's too loud)." He answered, opening the door in a swift action and smoothly guiding the Australian outside.

"Okay, what?" She asked but the second she did he bent down and captured her lips with his own. Her brain didn't kick in for a few seconds as her reaction time had slowed from drinking. Caught off guard, Tilly's reflex made her jump so that her forehead crashed into his and their noses bumped painfully. "What the fuck!" She shouted covering her mouth with her hands. "What's wrong with you?"

"Je t'aime (I love you)."

"Bloody hell! You're drunk!" She shouted only to have both her wrists grabbed by the boy. He hugged her tightly so that her arms were trapped and she couldn't break free. "Arrêt! (Stop!)" she shouted. "Francis! Stop it!"

"Calm down." He pleaded swaying slightly due to fuzzy vision.

"Get off me!" Tilly cried, afraid of her friend for the first time. He had never tried to hurt her like he was doing now. She was struggling to breathe with how tightly he held her. The only defence attack that sprung to mind was unleashed between the French man's legs and he let go of her suddenly with a groan. He curled into a ball, grabbing himself where her knee had abused him. "Fuck you!" She screamed then covered her mouth with both hands and started to sob.

"Matil-."

"No! Just-! Never talk to me again!" She cried opening the door and leaving the mess of a boy on the doorstep to Felix's house.

Francis knew he had screwed up by acting selfishly but he couldn't bring himself to hate his actions. After two minutes or so a couple arrived at the door. They were significantly younger than he was but the guy offered him a hand which he took. On his feet once more he bravely ventured into the house again looking for a relief from his pain. He found it.

Bella was talking to Alfred and Arthur in the kitchen. As he approached the group Al grinned at him and held his hand in the air which Francis high-fived. More than anyone else in the party he hated the American who couldn't admit his feelings. He hated that he was a milestone, stopping his from getting with the girl he had always loved.

However, he insisted on dragging Bella away from the two and upstairs into a room which said 'no entry'. It was locked but of course the former delinquent had experience with these obstacles before. He easily opened it with a pin he kept in his pocket* and dragged the wasted girl into a clean bedroom; shutting the door behind them of course. He kissed her and she; him back but there was no emotion in this. Her fingers trailed down his neck and his tangled in her hair. He pulled her over to the bed and between her legs.

She was smiling but had not spoken a word. His hands caressed her shoulder, dragging the red strap down and allowing him greater access. He cupped her, making circular motions with his hands before dragging Bella onto him, rolling over and proceeding to sleep with her.

* * *

"'ave you seen Bella anywhere? She was meant to bring us drinks." Jean asked Alfred and Arthur who had yet to leave the kitchen.

"Yeah, Francis took her upstairs. I wouldn't go after 'em though; you know Francis." Al laughed and the other scowled at him.

"'e wouldn't do anything to 'er; she was completely drunk and she told me zat she doesn't believe in sex before marriage." The French girl reasoned with a smile which faded upon realising that no matter how good she told herself her crush was, he was still a boy. "I'll look for zem." She smiled a fake, cheerful grimace then left the two.

"You're a nitwit." Arthur pulled the lid on another beer.

"Oh, really? Um…. Hey, you many wanna slow down, that's your third now." He pointed to the beer earning a smirk from his friend who started downing it.

"Toni!" He waved at the Spaniard who frowned and squeezed his way over to the two sitting on stools at the counter.

"There's too many people in here." He grumbled taking Alfred's beer without protest and swishing it back. "Kiku was looking for you before."

"Really?" Al snorted with an amused smile. "Thought he was too busy hooking up with Vash."

"He's friends with that nutter?" The Brit asked, still scared from his first and only encounter with the Swiss boy. "Bloody lunatic." He laughed finishing his fourth beer and taking a fifth.

Antonio was about to answer but did a double take upon seeing the latter and his punk styled clothing. "Maldición (damn)."

"I had the same reaction." Al laughed leaving the object of attention out of their joke.

"You look different. Good different." He added quickly. "What inspired this." He waved his hands in mid-air over Arthur's clothing.

"W-what? Well I wasn't going to wear anything nice to this party. I wouldn't dress up for you sods." He fumbled over his sentences.

"Okay, dude, if you're going to drink any more can you at least eat something?"

"Belt up." He muttered turning his drunken, flushed face from Alfred. A group of boys and girls approached them suddenly making Arthur feel self-conscious. They weren't friends with Al but he easily talked to them as if they were. Every one of them was fake and the kind of person you would expect to see at a party like this. The girls with their make-up caked on and the boys who were buff and laughing stupidly at crude jokes.

He'd expected that Alfred would draw a crowd; he just didn't think he'd feel alone within it.

* * *

Jean ventured upstairs past couples who were shamelessly making out and other drunken wallflowers. She opened each door then finally saw the master bedroom which said 'keep out'. This had to be the one. She opened the door to the dark room and brushed her short blonde hair away. It was large, with a balcony and walk in wardrobe opposite the door. Hearing sounds that she wished she could erase the French girl turned to see her close friend and her crush on the bed.

They were shameless in their display, not bothering to lock the door or seek privacy under the covers; Jean was completely at loss at this. She whipped her head away and bolted from the room, slamming the door and startling the two who froze and sat up, wondering who could have seen them. "Jean!" Tears poured from her eyes, ruining her makeup and resulting in her ignoring the voice. She went straight back to the kitchen with her head low and forcing her way through groups.

She picked up a bottle of blue cruisers and started to drink alone in the full house. She downed it in minutes then went for the second bottle, sniffing and gasping for breath in between huge mouthfuls.

Tilly had seen Jean and called out to her but it was loud enough that her voice could have been easily drowned out. She found her friend downstairs hunched over and seven empty cruisers around her. "Jean!" She yelled in a concerned tone, shaking her friend who was staring blankly ahead.

"Je le déteste. (I hate him)." She said trying to stand but tripping over her feet. Tilly grabbed her but she pushed the Australian away. "C'est ta faute! (It's your fault!)" She yelled. "C'est-!" Matilda grabbed Jean and hugged her, preventing the wasted girl from moving.

"Oui, c'est vrai (yeah, that's right)." She tried to calm her. "Tu as raison. (You're right.)" She choked sobs finally hugging the Australian before telling her she felt sick.

Taking the ill girl to the bathroom Tilly held back her hair and sighed, half hoping that she could ask Jean what she saw while her other half wished her friend could simply forget it.

Nothing is ever that simple.

* * *

Arthur was now successfully drunk, much to Toni's disdain however; Alfred had yet to even notice the odd slurs he articulated into the conversations. He laughed heartily at the humour he used to call unrefined sexual vomit and flirted with the girls who had taken a liking to his accent and laid back personality not to mention his looks and nicely fitting pants. One of the girls who was getting a bit too flirtatious for Toni's liking giggled. "Hey Arthur, go out with me!"

"I'm not interested in going out with you, love, how 'bout we just shag?" He started stripping off his jacket but was grabbed by Antonio. The girls protested but the Spaniard just smiled and told them to ask him again when he was sober reasoning that it wasn't fair on anyone if he said yes to their date request then couldn't remember it.

"Al!" The Spaniard shouted while pulling the boy, who was still confused as to why he couldn't get his jacket off (and unable to register the zipper) away from the group of girls. "I'm leaving Arthur with you, he's drunk."

"What? When did that happen?" He looked down through wired frames at the swaying Brit.

"Don't leave me wis- this bloody twat." Arthur groaned slapping Al's hand away when he tried to grab his jacket and keep him upright.

"Shit. Well, how am I meant to take him home like this? His brother's gonna shove a pick axe up my ass."

Toni was about to say something then he scowled, forgetting momentarily what he was thinking. "Wait, a pick axe?"

"I dunno, it's the first thing I could think of. Irrelevant. He's going to kill meeeee." He whined.

"Calm down. Where's his cell?" They dug through his pockets, ignoring slurred protest and name calling. "Here." He looked through the contacts and found Scott's number. "You call, I don't know him."

"What!"

"Just do it!"

"What do I say?"

"Oh, for God's sake Alfred!" He snatched the phone back and pressed the dial button only having to wait for two rings before a sleepy Scotsman picked up.

"Ello, Arthur?" He yawned.

"Sorry, no. Hi, I'm Toni, Arthur's friend."

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine, I'm just calling to-."

"If he's smashed don't bring the boy home. Take 'im to yers and drop 'im off in the mornin'."

"He-ugh-yes. Okay, sure."

"Thanks fer callin' me lad."

"Not at all. Bye."

"Bye."

He hung up and turned to Alfred. Antonio had looked surprised while talking on the phone and his passive smiled suggested they were not six feet under quite yet. "All good?"

"Yep."

"Awesome." They gave a relieved sigh until a haunting purred from behind him.

"Privyet, Alfred."

* * *

*Believe it or not, my friend actually managed to open a locked door with a hair pin.

I should NEVER post things I'm unhappy with but I couldn't leave this just sitting on my laptop while I went off to camp. So... yeah. Sorry for not editing, I'll try to do so when I get back!

See you next time!


	17. I can't do this!

I couldn't write when I was at camp so sorry for the late post. Hope the content makes up for it! ;)

Thanks to my reviewers: ZemyxDexion, What'sMyName'sBusiness, Tomoji-kun, Randomanime456, mudkiprox and sister momo

Also, today I was asked permission from Archeklein to translate my KHR fanfic 'Chopsticks' into Vietnamese! I'm so excited! :D

* * *

"Privyet, Alfred."

Alfred's face fell when he heard the voice and both he and Toni looked as though someone were holding a gun to their backs. His voice became threatening as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"Just to say hello." He said in a sing, song voice, loud enough to be heard over the thumping stereo system. His eyes slipped over to the staggering Brit whose head was lolling back and forth. "I think your friend is being tired."

"-s not 'bein' tired… just tired-ya git." He tried to articulate but stopped when he felt something cold splash on his hand. As it turned out he had been holding a beer and making involuntary hand gestures. That was peculiar. But he definitely wasn't drunk.

Ivan's cool gaze met Arthur's blurry vision and he smirked at the swaying figure. "My apologies." He then gave Alfred a wink which made the other nauseous. "Isn't it great Kiku is friends with Yao again? He is a nice person, I'm glad to have been meeting him."

"Fuck off Ivan."

"Al." Antonio hissed then turned and said with a stoic expression. "We're trying to enjoy ourselves; there must be a better way for you to do the same."

The Russian smiled and giggled to himself then without another word turned. He blinked then when he opened his eyes he saw Arthur's, full of unexplained hatred. They clashed for what felt like a moment but it quickly passed as Ivan walked away and Arthur was once again victim to his own drunkenness and blurred hearing due to the music.

Alfred continued to glare at him for a moment then slowly turned to the table, sighing as he propped his cheek in his palm, staring at the countertop, trying to ignore the way the bass in the music was thrumming loud enough that the cups and cans on the counter quivered dangerously.

"You okay man?" Antonio asked while placing a friendly arm around the blonde's shoulder. Alfred just readjusted his glasses and shrugged. "We'll take shifts with Arthur, I'll look after him now and-."

"Where is he?" Toni looked back to where he was originally standing without a word. The exhaled and took the beer from Alfred's hand. "I'll find him."

"Nah, I'll do it, I dragged him here in the first place." He shrugged and swung his leg off the seat and through the crowed. People parted without hesitation as he walked, one of the perks of being the school's golden boy. He caught sight of Arthur staggering towards the stairs and grabbed his arm.

"Whoa there, buddy." He caught the boy with an arm around his waist as he stumbled.

Arthur slowly registered what had just happened and tried to stand up properly while failing miserably. "Ger off." He slurred then felt that interfering arm move to under his shoulder in a supportive stance. Without reluctance the Brit clung to him and tottered away from the basement where the music was loudest. The house now pulsated to 'Miracle'* and seemed only to be getting louder. Alfred figured that enough was enough and despite only having been there for an hour decided to find the girls and Antonio to tell them he was leaving.

Arthur suddenly became limp and leaned his full weight on Al who tripped at this and crashed into a couple grinding. "Sorry! Sorry!" He shouted. The two at him like the bitchy sluts they were but went straight back to not-quite-having-sex. Scanning the crowd anxiously, he forced his way past another group of dancers so as to place his friend on an unoccupied couch and sit next to him. He was unconscious, the jerk, Al slapped his cheeks a few times and shook him until he stirred.

"Arthur Kirkland wake the fuck up!" He yelled and the group next to him turned then giggled at his misfortune. Blinking his eyes open the Brit groaned. It would take him hours to even sober up. "Up ya get." He helped lift his friend whose head lolled and leaned on his chest.

The American frowned and wondered just how much he'd had to drink. Probably a hell of a lot more than most people here. Suddenly he lifted his head and the two stared at each other. Alfred's glasses were fogged by the shallow breathing of the other onto his face. He reeked of alcohol and… oh fuck… he was leaning in. He'd barely noticed how close they were sitting and was now frozen stiff, leaning away in a futile attempt to create distance between them. "Arthur, stop it." He pushed the drunk boy away.

Tears suddenly sprung to the corner of his eyes and made their way down his cheek. "Whoa, dude, what's wrong?"

"It's you!" He pushed Alfred who proved to be as inert as a brick wall and sent himself backwards instead. "'s all you!"

"Okay, look, we'll find Toni and you can come home wi-."

"I hate you!" The Brit sobbed then looked down. Both his legs were on the couch, either side of Alfred and he'd taken to leaning towards his friend again. Arthur looked down at his hands, which he clenched and unclenched nervously, his face deepening to the red of a cherry. After a moment, he looked up at him again, logic blurred with desire.

There, in front of easily fifty students, Arthur's hands knotted into Alfred's white shirt and pushed him back onto the arm rest so he lay diagonally across the ebony couch. Al's breath hitched. He knew he could overpower the dizzy boy like snapping a tooth pick but couldn't find the motivation to do so. Both of their expressions softened as the American waited for the inevitable; and Arthur's eyes shut.

He liked Arthur.

Arthur liked him.

Their lips ghosted over one another's, only lightly touching and testing boundaries. Alfred closed his eyes in response and lifted his chin so their mouths connected. He made no move to neither deepen the kiss nor draw them together. After less than half a moment he pulled away.

Fuck.

The entire room was staring and Arthur had taken to banging his fist onto the American's chest. There were few that were speaking. Many had turned their heads away as if to pretend they hadn't seen the most well respected boy in their school cheat on his girlfriend; with a boy. Others gave him disappointed looks or harsh glares. Still, no one said anything to him.

A sudden chill came over him when it fully hit him what he had done and he threw the offending person to the other side of the couch and desperately started wiping the shame from his lips. "You didn't!" Yelled a voice over the music (which was now one of the few noises in the room). "Fuck! Alfred!" Antonio's face was flushed with anger and he had his cell phone in hand with a text message blaring light in the dimly lit room. He grabbed Arthur's singlet and dragged him up. "You moron!" The Brit clung to the Spaniard crying about how much he hated Alfred. "Do you even know what I fucking do to keep this group from acting like the screwed up misfits that we all are?"

"I'm-."

"No! Do what you want! All I have ever done for this group is try to keep us together, but if you want to go turning us on each other-!"

"I thought-!"

"No! You don't think! That's what's wrong with you! I'm sick of you! And Francis! And Gilbert! I expected this from them though. You… You just-!" He closed his mouth feeling tears prick his eyes and turned, pulling Arthur with him and away from prying eyes. He spared screaming at the Brit who was hardly able to keep his footing on the grounds that he was completely and utterly drunk.

Alfred lay back down on the couch defeated and ignored the judgemental voices around him choosing to blame it on the alcohol if anyone questioned him. And yet; he'd done it. Tilly would hate him. Mathew would never forgive him. Toni hated him. Francis would probably take this as him surrendering his girlfriend. Arthur… maybe it would be best if he kept his distance from the torturously attractive Brit for a while.

"You're coming to mine tonight Arthur."

"Nah 'm goin' t' Al's." He stated then rubbed his forehead.

"No, Arthur. You are not." Toni mostly said to himself although he was distracted, looking for both Francis and Gilbert.

* * *

Gilbert had found Vash with Kiku and Yao who explained that Ivan was going to say hi to an 'old friend'. No one questioned it although Kiku feared the worst resulting in Yao offering to look for him. The German teen took his cell from Vash who offered him not only the phone but a rather distasteful scowl. "Keep better track of your possessions."

"Yes mother."

"Gilbert-san, how are you?"

"Not bad, not bad." He waved his hand dismissively at his Japanese friend.

"Here's the money I owe you." The blonde withdrew a twenty from his back pocket but Gil hesitated. "Take it!" He snapped.

"It's cool. You keep-."

"I said take it!"

"Vash-san." Kiku clung to the arm which had money thrusting out at Gilbert.

"I'm not keeping it!"

"I'm not asking you to for your sake. Do it for Lili." At this the three boys froze. "There aren't enough hours in the day for you to work and support the both of you properly, you know that."

"…I don't need your help." His voice faded as he felt the weight of reality rest on him once more.

"Are you… having financial difficulties, Vash?" Kiku asked slowly.

"It's no one's business but my own!" He snapped glaring at the albino teen.

"Man the fuck up and keep the money." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "You're so not awesome." Seeing that this wouldn't be resolved any time soon, the blonde folded the bill and slipped it into his back pocket.

"We'll talk about it later."

Feeling that he'd won this round Gil turned in search of anyone more interesting. Vash looked back down at Kiku who seemed troubled until pale fingers tipped his head up and others slipped around his neck. Without warning or an invitation Vash brought his lips crashing down on Kiku's, his arm wrapped around his waist and curled his fist into the white material that made a loose fitting hoodie.

The Japanese boy didn't flinch, he deepened the kiss and tilted his head to expertly move closer in and toyed with the uptight blonde's lips, withdrawing and grazing his lower lip with his tongue. This earned him a noise of protest and scowl which he matched with a smirk. Maybe it was the alcohol but he felt lighter, happier and playful for the first time in weeks.

Then, without warning he pulled away and his face fell. The reactions he was receiving were unfamiliar. "I'm sorry." Kiku said softly enough that it was drowned out by the music in the back ground. "This isn't going to work." He said as loudly as he was able to.

Vash sighed and shrugged. "Friends?"

"Friends." He agreed and they both smiled in neutral admiration of one another. "I'm going to find Alfred."

"Sure, I'll talk to you later then." His face became more serious out of a sense of nostalgia. After Kiku left him, worming his way through the crowed, now as a little tuft of black hair, Vash was approached by Ivan. Braginski was smiling in a genuinely good mood and not the plastered on creepy-ass expression he usually wore.

"I take it you haven't heard?" Ivan said as more of a statement than a question. "Alfred is cheating on his girlfriend with Arthur."

"I knew I didn't like that bitch." He stated simply, taking a seat on the couch. "I'm tired of this, can we go?"

Ivan thought for a moment then sat next to Vash. "Is it Alfred who is the bitch?"

"No, the other one… the English guy."

"Arthur."

"Yeah."

"Hmmm…" He stared off then turned to smile at his friend again in a much colder way than before. "I see that you and Kiku are no longer together."

"We never were."

"Then you didn't do as I asked, da?"

"You asked me just to get close to him… and you didn't even tell me why."

"Because there was no need for you to know."

"What are you going to do to him?" He snarled with a hardened expression that revealed the harsh reality he lived in and the trials which had marred his innocence.

"It's not him I want… it's what he knows." Ivan's merry voice dropped slightly as he asserted his authority. "But if I did wish for something to be done about him, would you stop me? That would be breaking our contract, da?" He laughed as if the idea was ridiculous.

"…I wouldn't." Vash admitted in defeat. "I'm leaving." And he did.

It was freaking loud and starting to get on Alfred's nerves of which he, apparently, had many of. He kicked his feet off the couch and made his way through the crowed to find Matilda and come clean to her. As he reached the basement stairs he was stopped by an arm on his shoulder. "Alfred-san."

Al pivoted and grimaced. "Hey Kiku, look I need to find Ti-."

"Can I talk to you really quickly." He wavered, debating about rekindling his friendship with the boy who he felt betrayed him. "It's about Arthur." That changed everything. It was most likely something not concerning him because, unlike Antonio, Kiku probably was not texted about what happened two minutes previously at a party in some seventeen-year-old's house.

"Yeah, okay." Kiku smiled and dragged him towards the stairs and up into Felix's room which had a number of couples making out in it. Alfred avoided looking at any of them for too long but his curiosity made it impossible to avoid looking all together. He was taken to a balcony which was amazingly uninhabited. "Whoa, perfect."

"It is isn't it?" They sat on metal chairs which were painted white and had been moulded so that they were a tightly knit flower design and made a seat. "I'm sorry if you think I've been avoiding you."

"Wait! Shit! Man! I didn't even think of that! Were you?"

"Wha- uh! No!" He shouted. "No! I've just… developed a good friendship with Vash."

"Y-yeah, I mean. It kind of hurt because you stopped sitting with us suddenly, but I don't blame you, I guess…" They averted their gaze to the street which was the typical, suburban landscape save for hundreds of cars. "Are you friends with Ivan now?"

Kiku's response came immediately. "No."

"Okay. Good."

"I could never be, don't worry." He smiled then it faded and he looked out over the streets. "I did some research on Arthur-san's past." Alfred loved Kiku's slightly stalker-ish tendencies; despite them being creepy at times. "I understand why his brother would tell you not to develop a romantic relationship with him."

"That's not exactly what he said… and that was ages ago." He reasoned feeling the guilt start to pile up on him as his list of allies grew thinner.

"It isn't fair for me to tell you what happened to him, but do you wish me to do so anyway?" He asked and Alfred genuinely had to think about it. This was a breach of trust. Their friendship was strained as it was, wavering because of stupid feelings and actions.

"N-." He stopped, twiddling his thumbs nervously then grit his teeth. "It's not fair if you do."

"But Alf-."

"Look, you shouldn't just research someone's past. It's not your business and it sure as hell ain't mine. Not unless he wants it to be."

Kiku bit his bottom lip, feeling as if he were five and being scolded for stealing a cookie. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, I don't blame you. He's an interesting guy."

"Yes… he is." More so than Alfred knew.

"Which is why, from now on, I'm going to keep my distance from him."

Francis stumbled out of the room with Bella hanging onto his arm and glowing. "I love you!" She cooed and he smiled in response and kissed her again.

Antonio reached the top of the stairs, practically carrying Arthur, and saw this display which made him sick to his stomach. He marched over to them and yanked at the collar of Francis's poorly done up shirt. "We're leaving."

"Now?"

"Yes now, sorry Bella, I think Jean came up here looking for you earlier."

"She didn't find us then." The Belgian girl smirked nudging her boyfriend's side, he smiled then his face dropped and he looked horrified. The door had opened… someone had seen… It was unlikely but- shit! He liked Bella a lot but… if Jean knew then she would most likely tell Matilda… He was screwed.

"Let's go." Francis shook his arm free and followed Toni back downstairs where Gilbert was standing with a group of girls who appeared disinterested in what he had to say. Maybe it was because he was hitting on them all at once. It was most likely because his attempt at hitting on them also involved bragging about how 'awesome' he was. He'd been pissed off earlier seeing Vash, his oldest friend, and Kiku (whom he was fairly indifferent to) hooking up shamelessly in the middle of the room. It was just… so not awesome. Still, he couldn't figure out why. He resolved that hitting on girls was the best cure for anything.

"Hey, Gil, you still staying over at mine?"

"Yeah, why?" He saw the trio standing with Arthur laughing to himself, Francis looking disturbed and Antonio seemed uncharacteristically annoyed. "Okay… I'm not getting in the car with any of you guys unless you two stop frowning… and what happened to him?" He pointed at Arthur, failing to notice the girls had taken this opportunity to flee.

"Alfred left him alone for a while sitting in a corner next to a cooler."

"Huh… well I don't blame him then."

"I'm tired Gilbert, and you're driver so can we leave? Please?"

Gilbert put down his beer and approached him with a serious look on his face then pinched both his cheeks and pulled them outwards. "Show me a smile, beautiful."

At this Toni rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I know, I'll feel better when we leave."

"Then what the fuck are you still doing in here?" He placed a hand on both Francis and Toni's shoulders guiding them, "all of ya, get out!" He slapped their asses simultaneously then laughed to himself. Maybe Toni shouldn't have given him the keys…

In the car Francis's mood had improved slightly as he talked about all the pretty girls he'd seen. Gilbert threw his own input in, he was seated in the front next to the French boy and Antonio baby-sat Arthur with a plastic bag; just in case. When it became too quiet Gil turned to Francis who smirked at him then shouted. "Hey Arthur! Do you know what the chicken is?"

"I dun wan' no-!"

"Gilbert, I swear to God-." Toni started.

"I sink zat we 'ad better teach him." Francis agreed.

"He's drunk! Both of you! No!" Toni pleaded despite having been the inventor of said 'chicken'. Suddenly Gilbert swerved left, then right, left, right, left. "Cut it out!"

Francis opened and shut his door repeatedly mimicking the wing of a chicken and Gilbert followed suit, grinning like madmen and clucking, "BWAK! BWAK BWAK! BWAAAAAKKKKK!" And howling at Toni's horrified expression. Arthur cackled with laughter, going to open his own when he was tackled and held in place.

"Two hands on the wheel Gilbert! Francis don't encourage-! Okay! One hand! One hand! Hands on the wheel!"

One of them had to be responsible while Arthur threw up in his father's new Mercedes.

* * *

*Miracle is owned by Cascada and is freaking awesome.

Origin of the chicken... So, my friend's brothers were in their late teens when I was in primary school (K-6) and picked us up a lot from school. One day when they were driving (so, the boys, my friend, her mum and I in the car) the younger brother suddenly said... well... pretty much what in the fic. Their mum was fairly laid back but kept saying, 'don't do it... I swear, if you do it...' Kind of empty threats. My friend and I were laughing and being thrown side to side while the doors were opening and shutting and they were swirving the car.

And that my friends, is why I am not original. :)


	18. Can you stand this heat?

I really love you guys... your reviews mean so much to me which is why I always respond :)

Thanks: ZemyxDexion, Emi Akimoto, m21012, Alphine, What'sMyName'sBusiness and Jinxometer.

* * *

No one had dared to even text Matilda to tell her of Alfred's betrayal which was fortunate because she was busy tending to Jean who was lying on the bathroom floor in an attempt to stop the room from spinning. She decided it was time to leave and helped her friend to her feet to look for Alfred. It was a miracle they hadn't been shut down yet by the police who were generally on these sort of parties before midnight. As she made her way down the stairs she saw the familiar face of Vash **Zwigli** who looked anxious and pissed. But what else was new? He wasn't able to leave the party because Yao was his ride home and Yao wouldn't dare leave without Ivan.

He watched her ease Jean down the stairs and gave them a quick frown before looking away. When they had finally reached the bottom of the steps he approached them. "Can I help you?" She asked, not liking this boy but holding no particular grudge. He was just a jerk.

"Your boyfriend's a cheating asshole. I just thought you should know."

"…Fuck you!" She yelled at him which caught the Swiss teen off guard slightly. "You know, I don't really care right now! My best friend's drunk! One guy just tried to kiss me! Alfred is the only constant in my life, so if he wants to cheat on me then fine!" She was hysterical, sniffing to keep the tears back. Jean was listening, trying to comprehend what was going on but found her mind too easily wandered. "I'd rather that than have him leave me."

Vash's expression hardened. "Every single one of you are insane!" He shouted back at her. "I only told you bec-."

"Because you wanted to hurt me? Well done, mate!"

"No, because I don't think anyone deserves to be in a relationship that is so obviously strained and cold." Tilly shut her mouth when her bottom lip started to tremble. "Someone had to tell you, it probably wasn't going to be him."

"The messenger always gets shot." She sniffed then offered him a smile and wiped the leaking black from the corners of her eyes. "And he will tell me…"

Neither said anything more so Matilda went in further search of Alfred.

* * *

Alfred was looking for the two girls when he passed a looming figure who smiled cruelly at him. He grit his teeth and looked Ivan straight on. "Do you wanna start something?" He snapped shoving by a group of teens to get close to the boy he loathed.

"I'm just happy that you are happy… even if it is not being with your girlfriend." He giggled.

"I should kick your commie ass right here! Stop trying to fuck around with me!" Alfred grabbed Ivan's long sleeved, black shirt which fit him tightly underneath a beige jacket and the scarf which was practically attached to his neck. "You piss me off just by living! You're disgusting! Go fuck yourself in hell you sick communist ba-!" A fist connected with Alfred's jaw and the cool expression the Russian always adorned was replaced by pure malice.

Alfred was knocked backwards and a few girls shrieked while boys, who were probably influenced by alcohol at this stage started chanting: 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' Alfred quickly recovered from the initial shock and went for a running start at Ivan who blocked with his arms but was still knocked to the ground. Alfred landed near him, dizzy from drinking but now at an advantage, he stood up and kicked the Russian in the gut, winding him then again at his jaw, elating a curse from the other in his native tongue. Unfortunately, his leg was grabbed by fists of steel and he was dragged to the floor with a 'thump'.

Taking this opportunity, Ivan stood; lifting the American by his shirt then threw him away in no direction. His strength was unmeasurable and height gave him an advantage. Alfred slammed against the counter top and let out a groan, gripping the side of the counter until his knuckles were white. "FUCK!" He shouted, fearing his rib may be fractured.

He grabbed at his side where the corner had abused him; curling over slightly. Ivan fisted his now untidy hair and forced his head up. Alfred flinched and refused to make eye contact, bracing for the worst… Still, it was worth it. He hated Ivan. He'd finally confronted the bastard, even if it cost him his dignity and a month in hospital. He didn't regre-.

BANG!

The sound of a gun erupted over the music which shut off less than a second later by a senior boy who shouted, "What the fuck was that!" Girls screamed and those closest to the doors bolted. Vash stood only feet away from Alfred and Ivan with the gun now pointing directly at the small space between the two.

"Break it up." He said with an irritated and authoritative tone.

The Russian boy hesitated before loosening his grip and letting strands of hair slip through his fingers. Alfred jumped away, his heart hammered beneath the surface of skin although he was sure it would be visible if he removed his shirt. He leaned on the counter and clenched his jaw. The fuck-tard had broken something.

"ALFRED!" Felix shouted rushing through the scattering people to get to him. He placed an arm around him, completely distressed then turned to Ivan whose cheek was swelling and Vash who was holding a gun. "GET OUT! EVERYONE!" He yelled. "Who let you in?" He screeched at Ivan, now completely distressed.

Torris, who had been standing not too far away made his way over to his best friend. "Felix? What was that sound? Oh my God! Alfred!"

"Liet! Get everyone out!" He cried desperately.

The pain was pulsating through him, although, he'd started to doubt his rib was fractured. Torris was ushering people to the door despite some drunken protests. Seeing that Ivan hadn't left but was looking at Alfred now in complete shock, Felix grabbed an empty glass bowl and launched one handed it in his direction. It missed and hit the wall, shattering. "GET OUT!" He yelled, hysterical and with one arm still around the crippled American.

Ivan backed away, trembling and holding onto Vash's arm. The Swiss boy pulled the Russian's jacket towards the door and out of the house, slamming it shut as they left.

Of course he hadn't fired real bullets, at the time all he had was blank cartridge, but it did the trick and successfully ended the party, thus clearing his headache. Not that this had been his intension… But it was a perk. "Ivan! What is wrong with you?" He asked suddenly, pushing the boy to an arm's distance to force him to release his python grip on his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to hurt him…" He said softly, looking at his hands which quivered. "Govno*"

"Let's just find Yao and leave."

* * *

Yao had panicked at the gun shot and tried to make his way down to where he'd heard the fire but was forced out by a swarm of people. He settled for waiting outside. Vash would be the only one psychotic enough to bring a gun to a teenager's house party. What was wrong with him? Did he do it for kicks? The ass.

Eventually they came out, Vash seemed as though he were lecturing Ivan, not an entirely rare sight but one that generally didn't bode well. However, this time the Russian boy looked startled and Yao wondered if Vash had finally lost it and pointed the gun at him. He made his way over to the two, ready to yell at the Swiss boy who had the offending object still in hand.

"What the fuck are you doing-aru?" He shouted pushing Vash's shoulders away for added effect.

"It was a blank." He explained. "Let's just go. I hate these kind of places."

"Then next time don't come!" Yao whipped the sweat from his forehead with his long, red-sleeved shirt. "Shit!"

Sirens could be heard down the street and anyone that remained on the front lawn scrambled away. Curses flew and some intoxicated girls giggled at the adrenaline rush. Yao took Ivan's hand and led him towards their car which was parked directly in front of the house. "Let's just get out of here." Ivan still looked like he would be sick.

* * *

Alfred curled over and collapsed to the group. Felix wasn't in the slightest conflicted, asking Torris to call an ambulance and find Jean and Tilly who he had acted as the driver for. No member of the group would be in any shape for the road.

"Shit, I'm so sorry, man. I fucked up."

"Don't be a dill*. Do you really think I blame you? That's, like, totally stupid Al." He said in a heavy, Polish accent. Al laughed, having quite the history with Felix.

"Let's face it, dude, I ruined your party."

For a minute Felix looked completely stunned then he rolled his eyes. "The two of us are the party. Like, those dweebs were just there to make noise."

"And bring the drinks."

"Chyah."

They smiled at one another. "Guess I won't be staying to help you clean up."

"I guess not." Torris appeared and quickly came to help Alfred onto the couch, knocking away beer bottles which clinked together as he did. The white rug beneath them was stained and smelt of alcohol and sweat from the dancers in the heated room.

Jean and Matilda came rushing in moments later. "Al!" Tilly came to his side. "You idiot! What were you thinking?" Jean was still dizzy, tears stained her rosy cheeks and her red eyes were glazed over still.

"Toni asked me the same question." He muttered, not referring to his fight.

"Where is he?"

"Left."

"What? Never mind. Felix, did you call an ambulance?"

"Ya, I'm not a dweeb."

"Good. Alfred, we'll talk later, is it okay if we stay here tonight?" She asked the Polish boy who shrugged. "I'm going to put Jean to bed." She looked at Alfred for a moment; every inner conflict she faced was etched into her features. She leant over, hesitated; then pressed a quick kiss on his lips. "Love you." She whispered, willing her eyes not to betray her.

"Love you too." Al replied, smiling and watching as she nodded then helped Jean up and left.

When they had left Felix grimaced. "That was so awkward."

"What?"

"You two are, like, frigid… I mean, have you even, like, had sex yet?"

"Come on, man."

"What? You don't need to hide anything from me. I won't judge you, I promise."

Alfred sighed; he could always trust Felix. He had been there with him when he had gone over the edge but left Ivan's group much sooner. When he was recovering they'd become friends again. When this happened they had both gone so far as to cry together, because Ivan had a way of making you hurt the ones you love.

"No, we haven't." He sighed.

"So then, like, do you even like her?"

"Can we talk about something else? I hear sirens."

"The ambulance must be here." Torris said, leaving to answer the door. Alfred was lifted, strapped to a stretcher and taken away. Torris offered to stay back and clean if Felix went with Alfred, Matilda said she would help him but he insisted she went to sleep. It had been an exhausting night.

On the way Felix was questioned about the party, evidence of one had been scattered in the house and yard. He was truthful about the size of it but denied providing alcohol. That had all been brought. Alfred had been found to be slightly intoxicated but Felix was clean as a whistle. When asked what had happened both boys denied the fight, Alfred claimed his injuries were from earlier that day when he'd heroically saved a boy from a group of bullies! The fracture, however, had been blamed on 'some kid' who was enthusiastically dancing and had pushed Alfred into the counter by accident. This was a terrible lie. Still, it would be better if Ivan wasn't brought up. He wasn't a forgiving person.

* * *

Kiku had been kicked out, unable to find anyone and stuck now without a ride home. Something Alfred said before he left resonated with him. _"Which is why, from now on, I'm going to keep my distance from him."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I care about him… and I don't want to hurt him."_

"_Alfred-san… Do you like Arthur?"_

"_Yeah. I do."_

"_Then don't give up on him."_

"_It's not that simple." He smiled sadly then turned his head towards the ornate, French styled doors. "I'll catch you later."_

His heart skipped a beat and without even needing to communicate to his legs they were leading him down the street, towards school, although that wasn't his final destination. He pulled out his wallet and found the small silver key he'd been given. He wouldn't just let this go. It wasn't that simple.

He jogged down the street, becoming tired quickly from lack of stamina but reached the apartment complex in fifteen minutes. He climbed the stairs and stood outside the door. He pressed the key into the knob and turned, opening the lock and granting him access into the place he knew so well.

Heracles was in the kitchen by the door, soaking dishes and fighting off sleep. He heard the lock click and his fingers itched towards the knife, still covered in soapy suds. Upon seeing Kiku he visibly relaxed and then tensed. "Go home." He said sternly, his heart rate still slowing from the initial shock.

The Japanese boy shut the door softly. "I refuse."

"Kiku…"

"I won't give you up unless you really don't care about me!" He kept his voice low and controlled but his anger shone through.

"Don't be so stubborn." He pleaded backing away when his pupil approached him. Kiku stood for a moment and time stopped. Neither moved and then they did. Mesmerized lips press together repeatedly, unable to get enough, as if it were oxygen. The world disappeared from between them as moved closer and grew more urgent, ragged breathing and dancing tongues reminded them of what was and what they felt should be. When breathing became essential they pulled away in short, desperate gasps.

Heracles reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair from his cheek and slid his hand slightly over, behind his head. His fingers rubbing the back of Kiku's neck, a conflicted look in his eyes informed Kiku of his victory. He pressed a feather light kiss to his teacher's lips then smiled as he was pulled closer into an embrace, being held tightly and allowing the world to melt away.

* * *

Arthur woke up to a bird's cry like a witch's cackle. It pulsed through him and set his head on fire. The four boys lay on a large mattress in the corner of Antonio's dully lit room; the windows almost bursting at the seams with the now brightly lit morning sun. He found himself on the end, next to Francis whose arm was draped, not so innocently, across him.

He refrained from bolting up, having a vague memory of leaving with Antonio and the all too fun drive home. He felt his stomach churn but kept it down; he had quite the experience with this. He knew he wasn't drunk anymore purely because of the bitch of a hangover he suffered from. There was a silver bowl next to his head which he instantly grabbed then sat up, he wanted to keep the bile down but found it was futile. He threw up.

The sound woke Francis up and the smell forced Gilbert out of bed. "Merde (shit)." Francis rubbed his eyes. His eyes adjusted to the light slowly, but it hurt like sunburn. "Toni, levés toi (get up)." He slapped his friend's ass who slept on his stomach.

He groaned but sat up when he heard Arthur throw up again. "I need another twenty-four hours," Gilbert moaned, lying back down despite his churning stomach. He always felt sick when he smelt vomit. It was, in his opinion, the only unawesome thing about him.

"Bathroom's at the end of the hall." He explained and Arthur scurried away, taking the bowl with him. Without even noticing, Toni's head hit the pillow beneath him. "I need a bigger bed." He grumbled seeing that the large mattress was really only made for two.

"Fuck!" Francis pulled a pillow from under Gil's head and held it over his ears, rolling over so that he faced the mattress. Gilbert squawked, having lost his pillow and kicked Francis's side.

Arthur came back ten minutes later, feeling a world better save for the headache, "I took some aspirins I found in the cabinet."

"Panadol, not the red ones, right?" Toni asked quickly.

"Yes, I didn't even see them there."

"Okay, good. How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful, I can't even remember last night."

"zat is a shame, mon cher, we made sweet love." Francis propped up on his elbows and waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the Brit who sat on the side of the bed. Gilbert took this opportunity to swipe the pillow back and hit Francis on the head with it before lying back down. Asleep before he hit the pillow.

Arthur quickly checked that he still had his clothes on then glared at Francis. Well... he was still wearing his pants at least. "Fuck off."

Francis looked as though laughter would explode from him at any second and Toni had a guilty smirk on his face too. They both guffawed the second their eyes met. "What?" Arthur asked scowling and feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Shut up!" Gilbert shouted kicking Francis again in the leg. Damn, his head hurt.

"Actually, you did attempt to seduce him…" Antonio bit his lip but didn't look the least bit regretful. "After you tried to do a strip tease. Gilbert was no help there, were you Gil?"

"Fucking hilarious shit." He agreed as articulately as he knew how.

Francis rubbed his abused area and admired the stunned face of Arthur Kirkland. His eyebrows rocketed, his mouth dropped and eyes widened. The worst thing is that he couldn't even remember it. Toni's smile wavered then fell. "There's something we should tell you…" Nothing ever good came from starting a sentence like that. "You kissed Alfred last night."

"What?" He spluttered, his face reddened and that wave of nausea returned like a trained dog. "N-no, that's not even funny, guys."

"You were drunk; no one will hold a grudge against you." Toni tried to assure the panicked teen who was starting to make sharp intakes of breath. "Alfred wasn't himself either, you don't need to worry."

"Yeah, you tried to sleep with Francis, how sane could you have been?" Gilbert added helpfully and, surprisingly, that did absorb an amount of tension. But still, what had happened? Did he force himself onto Alfred? What if he never spoke to him again!

"What exactly happened?" He'd kissed the boy he was in love with and couldn't even remember it, how was that for karma? Matilda would hate them both… but did she know already?

The bad touch trio looked at each other, waiting for someone to answer. "Je ne sais pas (I don't know.)" Francis said defensively and Toni sighed looking at Gilbert who was of no help.

"We were all just texted that the two of you were on the couch hooking up." Toni flipped through his messages and threw the phone to Arthur. He didn't recognize the contact. "I came to get you."

"Thanks." The Brit muttered.

"Tils and Al are on ice as it is." Gilbert speculated. "Think this'll break 'em up?"

"If it does I'll strangle that American prick." Antonio lay down again with his arms folded behind his head. There was something eerie about his all too natural tone and accompanying smile.

Guilt lodged in Arthur's throat and he shuddered a shaky breath. "Should I call him? Try to sort this out?"

Antonio stared at the ceiling then kicked his legs, sat up and smiled. "Yeah, you should." He suddenly grinned a thousand watt beam.

Francis gave him a look of adoration with his cheek propped in his hand. "I can see why 'e would like you." He cooed, tipping his head and letting loose strands fall over his shoulder.

"It's not a beauty pageant, pervert." Gilbert said, voice muffled by the pillow which he lay face flat on.

Arthur's cheeks filled with colour and he picked at the lint on the blanket. "What do you mean by that?" He asked not looking at anyone in particular.

"You're much more attractive zen Matilda iz." Francis said simply.

He was startled but hung his head lower. "N-not really."

Toni rose one eyebrow not quite believing Arthur's modesty, "you really didn't know? You must have realized how popular you are."

"W-well I am British."

-Silence-

"Okay, bad joke."*

"Anyway," Toni spared his embarrassment, "realisticly, you're probably more Alfred's type. Looks aside even." He stated; the smile was wiped clean off his face as realization dawned on him. In the end Alfred would leave Matilda.

* * *

*Dill is actually Australian slang for… well, it's an insult. Kind of like 'idiot'. I could imagine Poland saying it.

*Russian word for 'shit' according to google…

*Because we all know the British guy (at school) is the hottest XD or is that just me…?

* * *

This was almost 4000 words and really bitsy because I've introduced too many characters to handle... I can't help it though, I love them all! They are all just so unique and important. I really am sorry if this fic is getting too clustered, I didn't want that but I'll go with what I have and make the best ending I can. :D

Thank you all so much for your support!

See you next chapter!


	19. This should fix everything

Hey guys... sorry for lateness! The reason is school but I'm not gonna go into it because it's boring (esspecially to me -.-).

SO! I'd like to thank: ZemyxDexion, What'sMyName'sBusiness, vampiregirl878, xxalexisyourgodxx, bellawesome, rae1112, AoiBaraKa, sister momo, Tatiana, Miserylolita and m21012- You guys are awesome on, like, Prussia's level~!

I'm not sure if you guys will find this boring. I'm trying to tie up loose ends after the party and move into USUK now... trying... trying...

Enjoy~

* * *

Sometime early (technically late) in the morning Gilbert had swiped Antonio's phone and to alleviate his boredom sent Alfred a simple text message saying: _I love you… have my babies._ To which he received no immediate reply. Al had spent the entire night in the hospital, texting Torris and contemplating telling his friends what had happened or turning up to school bandaged for shock points. He could totally pull this off as a heroic battle injury had their not been a room full of witnesses.

Upon reading the message he felt his heart split open painfully and memories from last night played like a scratched record through his mind. Blurry but there in its entirety. He clicked the reply button but hesitated, his thumb hovered over the ominous 'send'. Eventually he pressed it with enough force to squish a beetle and watched the flashing screen expecting to hear back in a second.

His reply read: _. Gil/Francis, give Toni back his phone before I beat the crap out of you both._ The phone in Gilbert's possession buzzed and his flipped it open, reading the text with brows drawn in confusion.

_Gilbert: Wats rong Alfie? Hang ova?_

_Alfred: Oh… hey Gil. Yeah, I'm alright. Toni's pissed at me though. BTW, ur spelling sux._Only Gilbert could have difficulties spelling 'wrong' and English wasn't even his second language.

_Gilbert: Shit, man, wha chu do? _

_Alfred: "…What? He didn't tell you?"_

_Gilbert: "No. He duznt seem 2 pissed atm."_

_Alfred: "Is Arthur there?"_

_Gilbert: "Yeh. Why?"_

"_That's why." _Gilbert scrolled up and read through their conversation again before the realization finally dawned on him and he messaged Alfred again.

_Gilbert: "Is it bout that hole u cheatn on ur gf thing?"_

_Alfred: "No… its actually about me marrying Ivan…"_

_Gilbert: "Lol. Sh*t man. He gets ova things fast tho. Wanna meet up 2day?"_

_Alfred: "Yeah, I mean, who couldn't forgive a hero like me? And can't today… sorry."_

_Gilbert: "K. ttyl._

_Alfred: "See you."_

Al lay back on the hospital pillow. They'd kept him in because of his intoxication and because the x-ray was given to him at three in the morning. He hated life. They were checking his lungs for infection now meaning he couldn't leave the room. Anyone that had the pleasuring of meeting Alfred Jones knew he HATED staying still. His parents were coming to pick him up that afternoon but they didn't seem too upset by the ordeal. Although he hadn't mentioned Ivan to them...

His phone vibrated next to him, flashing screen and moving across the table. He flipped it open and answered. "Hey."

"Hello, how are you?" Came Arthur's thick drawl and Alfred's heart pounded painfully under the fracture. His breath hitched and lungs moved against his injury forcing him to supress a groan.

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay, huge headache. I know why you're always bitching about them." He laughed his obnoxiously loud laugh; successfully pissing off the elderly man in the bed next to him. "But yeah, okay, what about you." You bring it up. You bring it up. You bring it up.

"I don't 'bitch' Alfred Jones!" He snapped then his tone softened. "So… do you remember much of what happened last night?"

"Ummm…"

"I'm not going to pretend that nothing happened because, apparently, it did only I can't remember it." He stated proudly and the American hung his head low; silent. "Alfred?"

"I can't really remember either…" He lied. "I mean, I was smashed." He lied. "I only got texted about it this morning." He lied. Arthur could just sense all of the lies he'd spurted and slid his back down the corridor wall until he was on the floor.

"Is that so?" He said to fill the silence. "Well, then, what do you want to do about it?"

Suddenly there was bite to Alfred's tone. "What do you mean 'what do I want to do'? That's a stupid question. It never happened. We were both drunk. Just forget it, okay? If people ask, it's just a rumour, if they claim they saw us then we don't remember. Got it!" He snapped then his windpipe closed over and the air he gasped in froze his throat. "I'm sorry."

Arthur's mouth went dry hearing his cold words that skewered his racing heart. "No, I understand it's because you don't want to upset your girlfriend." He felt his depression steam into a bubbling resentment. "But you don't have to be such a bloody arse about it! At least man up and face that there is obviously something wrong that you felt you needed to strain our friendship and possibly ruin your relationship." He snapped, articulating every word perfectly and glaring ahead of him. "I only went to that bloody party because you made me. Take some responsibility for your actions!"

"I fucking asked you, I didn't handcuff you and make you come." He said miraculously. "What's your problem, man?"

He played with the words in his head but they clung to his tongue and refused to be spoken. "I-." Arthur started, planning to say something witty that would corner the American but the words melted in his mouth and he pressed the end button with a scoff.

The phone beeped repeatedly in Alfred's ear. "Fuck." He sighed, snapping it closed. The nurse came in with his lunch but his stomach was already eating itself from the inside. He pushed the tray away.

Arthur hung his head low then ventured back into Antonio's room. He would need to ask for a ride home since he didn't even know what bloody suburb he was in. "How'd it go?" Gilbert asked, hiding his concern after texting Alfred earlier.

"He's a bloody git."

"Chyeh, well, no shit Sherlock." He chuckled while lacing up converse shoes. "But what did he say?"

Arthur shrugged and Toni approached him, wavered for a second, then wrapped his arms around the Brit's shoulders. "I'm sorry Arthur."

"I'm going to kill zat American bastard." Francis grumbled, putting both hands into his pockets and glaring at the floor.

Gilbert had never been one for awkward silences or tense atmospheres so he randomly (and loudly) suggested, "let's get some food. I'm fucking starving."

"Language." Toni smirked at him, drawing back from Arthur who looked slightly less upset. Nothing mended a broken heart better than a free meal with friends.

Not for the first time since arriving at Yao's Ivan grinned like a child at Christmas. Last night had been everything he'd hoped for despite the unexpected brawl he'd initiated. To top it all off, he'd received a text message from his sister who was touring Ukraine with his younger sister. It was no secret that he played favourites; Natalia could never live up to his older sister's image. Katyusha was in a class of her own. She was innocent and devious; childlike and cunning however; she was genuinely a good person.

Natalia was a dancing prodigy, sought after when she was only nine and ripped the cord from her family so that she was not tied to anything in the pursuit of her career. When she had made a name for herself she reconnected with her brother and begrudgingly her sister. Katyusha now acted as Natalia's manager with her best interest at heart as long as the price was right. Needless to say their bond was materialistic and only to secure the affection of their brother in common.

"I have wonderful news." He almost sang to Yao who was cooking omelettes for their breakfast. "My sisters are coming home."

The Chinese boy was completely indifferent to the news having never met them and looked over his shoulder. "When?"

"They arrive at six in the morning Tuesday; that is good, da?" He asked and Yao pressed his lips together with a nod. Vash was suffering from both a severe hangover and head cold and thus had stayed in bed.

"Fantastic-aru." He mumbled to himself, pulling three plates from the cupboard next to his fridge then putting the kettle on to boil. Vash stumbled out of bed to greet them, massaging his temples as he came into the room and sniffing. "You're up." Yao commented.

"Good morning, sunshine." Ivan cooed and Vash glared at him.

"Shut up Ivan."

Yao brought the three plates skilfully to them smashing the Swiss boy's head when his hands were free. "You work too hard and too much-aru. You have to take better care of yourself."

"It's not like I have much of an option, do I?" He snapped standing and going to the cupboard to look for hot chocolate mix. He hated the stuff but found that he functioned best after having some form of hot chocolate instead of tea or coffee. This powder shit would do. He poured milk and set it into the microwave on high for a minute.

"So, Katyusha and Natalia are coming home?" He asked sipping the foul and scolding drink. "I bet you're pleased."

Ivan merely smiled and played with the buttons on his phone.

Some-time late in the day Antonio received a phone call from Diana, Alfred's mother, asking him if he could pick up her useless son from the hospital. It came as quite a shock to him but he quickly agreed, reassuring her that he'd made no other plans and he could be there on time. She didn't need to know about their little falling out.

"Alfred's in hospital, I'm going to pick him up." Toni announced to the group who were sitting around a large wall screen television surrounded by an assortment of sweets.

"What the hell?" Gilbert shouted getting to his feet and ignoring 'Ocean's 11' playing in the background. "Why?"

"His mom can't get him, she's taking Matthew to an appoint-."

"Why is he in hospital?" Arthur asked urgently cutting across the dense Spaniard.

"-ment- Oh, I don't know."

Gilbert swore and pulled out his phone. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch." He looked through his contacts when Francis put his hand over Gil's so that the screen was covered. "What the hell Francis?"

"If 'e wanted us to know, 'e would 'ave told us."

"I don't give a shit. I'm checking on him." He swiped his hand back.

"Francis is right. I don't think Dia wanted me to tell anyone."

"We aren't just anyone. We're his friends!" Gilbert shouted.

Arthur was fiddling with his own phone, teasing the buttons and bitting his bottom lip. "Toni." He said simply to get the Spaniard's attention. "Can I come?" He didn't feel guilty. He wanted to check if his friend was okay. But he certainly wasn't doing this for him. It couldn't be helped.

"Sure." Toni had been hoping that Arthur would ask as he was afraid of going alone after last night and Gilbert and Francis would most likely not let him have a private word with the idiot.

The other two were convinced to stay behind after much yelling on the German's behalf. In the car Arthur was reminded once again why he loved Antonio's company. He was bubbly and even if nervous himself he absorbed the tense atmosphere like a sponge.

Arthur hated hospitals. The smell of them, the white walls that reminded him of a psychiatric ward and the known diseases floating in the air. Toni, being eighteen, stayed behind to fill in paper work regarding Alfred's release but suggested that Arthur head up first.

He opened the door without hesitation and the American turned his head from the television, face falling when Arthur levelled him a look of professionalism. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright… shit, I didn't want you to find out." He looked down at his feet which bulged under the blue sheets. "Who told you I was here?"

"Dia called Antonio and asked if he could get you. What happened?" He asked calmly, taking a seat at the edge of the younger boy's bed.

Alfred quirked an eyebrow at his feet thinking it strange that Toni accepted the request. "I don't want to talk about it."

They were both silent, Arthur's eyes were narrow as if piercing his thoughts. "I'm sorry I lost my temper with you earlier."

"It's cool."

"No, it isn't. I don't know what happened last night but I don't want you to hold a grudge against me because of it."

Alfred waved his hand dismissively. "It was an accident, or, whatever. Friends?"

"Of course." Arthur gave him a relieved smile as Toni walked in on cue. Really he'd been standing at the door with a nurse but they didn't need to know that.

Alfred was discharged led the way out of the room, pausing to make sure the door shut behind them, Arthur and Antonio followed him until they reached the elevator. The doors opened with a ding and they stepped inside. Arthur stood, back straight; and Al slumped against the wall despite prangs of protest from his injury. Alfred pushed the first floor button and stared at the others, lost in the desire to press all the buttons when they hopped out. Arthur had noticed the look and muttered a threatening, "Don't you even think about it."

The American retreated with his lopsided grin and said, "I wasn't gunna do anything."

"I believe you but thousands wouldn't."

Antonio laughed at the lighter atmosphere and beeped his father's car open. "So I'll drop Arthur off first then take you 'round. I think we need to have a chat." His smile wasn't quite so airy making it look forced and caused Al to grimace. He was still in serious shit.

And so it happened. Arthur got out first with quick and awkward goodbyes and opened the door to the house he hadn't seen in what felt like weeks. Peter was in the living room when he walked in, playing with his PS3 but looked up when he heard the door close. "Scott?" He called out, uncertain.

"No, it's me." Arthur called back and Peter scrunched up his face and went back to his game. The Brit came into the living room, hair untidy and wearing his clothes from yesterday after refusing to borrow from Antonio.

"Ew, it's you." He said not looking up when his older brother came into the room.

"What's your problem?" He scoffed in return. "And don't wear your bloody sailor hat inside."

"You can't tell me what to do." Peter mumbled, eyes never leaving the game.

"Okay. What's wrong?"

Peter drew his lips into a thin line then looked at Arthur, his eyes no longer masking the distress he felt. "You were out all night again!" He cried, hurt. "You said you weren't going to do that anymore! You said that you didn't like parties! You lied!"

"This was different." Arthur insisted feeling guilty but also knowing that he was in the right. "I went because Alfred asked me to."

"You still lied! Are you going to leave us too?" Peter started to cry, betraying how young he really was. "If you are you should just go away you big, stupid jerk!"

The older brother's face felt hot at the accusations, he quickly came to his distraught brother's side and comforted him. "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. It's okay. I promise." For the first time in years Peter clung to him, hugging the brother he so often claimed that he hated. Arthur rested his head on his younger brother's shoulder and smiled.

Antonio pulled up on the curb and lifted the hand break with a jolt. The ride had since been silent, neither wanting to be the first to apologize. As it turned out Toni was the bigger person.

"Sorry I shouted at you." He said although he didn't sound entirely convincing.

Alfred shrugged. "I deserved it. I don't know what I'm doing, man."

"Maybe you shouldn't do anything until you figure it out." Toni suggested snappily. "I mean, jeez. Arthur's head over heels for you and last night you lead him on then just dusted him aside. And Tilly… shit, she never did anything to you. All I'm saying is that right now you're being a jerk to one of them. You can't make them both happy; you'll have to choose."

Alfred had remained silent, absorbing everything Toni said. "Yeah."

"I don't care if you pick Arthur, just break up with Matilda first."

"I can't do that." He shook his head absent mindedly. "Matt would hate me."

Antonio stared at him in disbelief. "Alfred… what the fuck does your brother have to do with your love life?"

The American grimaced then grinned. "It's a long story and a pretty boring one," but he felt he owed his friend an explanation. "After I pushed… after Mathew was hospitalized he asked me to look after Tilly. I couldn't say no."

"Take a deep breath, Al…Why don't you start from the beginning?"

* * *

If I'm away for a while I'm really really really sorry! My major work is due in a few weeks which is the most stressful thing I have ever done.

I know this was cliffy but...yeahhhh... I'm a horrible person that loves you guys!

X Neve


	20. Is this progress?

Can't say I didn't warn you... but I'm still really sorry it took me so long D: I've had a horrible time with my major... due in two weeks and not even half finished... omgosh... so that's why this is so late.

zszszsz: to answer your question: no! I haven't dropped and have no intentions of doing so! I swear! Just busy with work at the moment T.T also I'm not gonna lie... I didn't proof the second half... my bad. I just wanted to get this out asap!

You guys are the best... I was so happy with the alerts and reviews last chapter that I've felt guilty about not posting sooner. Thank you: vampiregirl878, AoiBaraKa,Loudheart14, MimmiTheOtaku, xxalexisurgodxx, Deidara'sgirl19, .qUiCkSiLvEr wInGs., sister momo, Tatiana, mudiprox, Whitefleur, mya3dan, zszszsz and Tomoji The Grave Digger (x3)

* * *

Alfred fiddled subconsciously with his seatbelt, dragging his nails across the surface while his body tensed. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" Toni suggested.

_A fifteen-year-old Alfred was lead through the hospital to face his brother who he had avoided seeing out of fear. Mathew was sitting up in his bed, holding a stuffed polar bear which Francis had given him upon visiting the boy earlier. His smile faded when it was announced that Alfred was here to see him. _

_Tears sprung to the older twin's eyes when he noticed the bandages covering stitches and the blankets which hid his now redundant legs. "I'm glad you finally came to visit me." Mathew said softly and for once his voice was truly heard._

"_I'm so sorry Mattie." He cried approaching the bed. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He reached out to touch his brother's shoulder but his hand was slapped away by his furious younger brother._

"_The doctors said I may never walk again." His voice cracked and tears he suppressed for his parents streamed down his face. "I'm never going to fucking walk Alfred! And it's your fault!"_

"_I know! I'm-!"_

"_Don't cut across me! Let me finish my fucking sentence before you start telling me how sorry you are and that you wish it was you!" He cried loudly gripping onto his brother's lanky arm hard enough that the other flinched but remained silent. "I tried to help you with fucking problems and you ignored me. I'm dealing with the consequences! You've ruined my life!"_

_Now hysterical Alfred grabbed at Mathew's hand to pry it off. "You don't know that! You can still walk! I know you can! Science can do anything!"_

"_All you've ever done is take from me! How the hell am I meant to live like this?"_

"_I know I fucked up but-!"_

"_It's not just this Alfred. You've always been jealous of me and had to have whatever I did." At this the American was silent, knowing this to be partially true but not understanding where his brother was going. "You stole Matilda."_

"_What?" He spluttered_

"_You flirted with her on her last visit here; you told her you liked her because you knew that I did! I stood a chance with her until you did that! You didn't even care about her until I told you how I felt!" Alfred couldn't believe what he was hearing. His brother was more upset about some girl than the loss of his legs. Or had he pent up all his anger? Had Mathew always hated him? "You can't give me back what you've taken, so don't. But don't you dare fuck around with Matilda! You told her you loved her so you'd better make her happy!" He shouted bursting into tears._

"_Mattie… I don't-." Why couldn't he understand the person who was identical to him?_

"_Shut the hell up Alfred! She'd never like me now because of you! I'll never play hockey again because of you! Well it's not like it matters because mom and dad always went to your games when mine were on!" His cold glare cut into Alfred's heart. "You took mom and dad, anything else you want?"_

_Alfred was now panicking and looked horrified, "that's not true!" He insisted with lips quivering, "they love you so-."_

"_Alfred…just get out." Mathew said in a voice just above a whisper but it resonated with him as if echoing off the walls. Alfred had never been so afraid in his life. He left._

Antonio and Alfred fell silent. At some point during their conversation Toni had placed an arm on the other's shoulder to encourage him to go on. Now they were both uncomfortable. "Mathew had no right to force you together." He justified although thinking about it, Alfred had always had a competitive nature that allowed him to over shadow his younger brother. Mathew had low self-esteem growing up; then Alfred took his legs to make it worse.

"He didn't force me." The blonde insisted. "He wanted me to do this and it helped a lot. After getting help with my addiction and starting to date Tils, I became the school's golden child again and everything started going right for me. Pissed the fuck out of Ivan though. No wait… I was always the school's golden child, but I stopped lying to myself and everyone else about it."

"You're not a bad guy, Al. You made mistakes but you dating someone you don't love isn't going to fix them." Alfred pouted and put his feet on the seat, curling into a ball; highlighting his frailty. Toni wondered if he would break if he touched Al or said anything more on the subject.

"I don't know what to do." He laughed bitterly, placing his head on his knees.

"I do." The Spaniard said almost too quickly. "Break up with her."

Alfred was silent for a long while.

* * *

Vash would have slammed the door shut if he didn't respect the architecture of Roderich's house so much. Elizabeta heard him regardless and perked up, placing her book down and rushing the door, stopping short when she saw he looked unhappy. "How was the party?" She asked with a fake smile as if his mood didn't discourage her.

The Swiss boy glared at her. "It's not your business,* I'm not going to detail last night for you so don't ask."

"I didn't, I asked how it was." Her voice wavered feeling the tension thicken between them but didn't let her smile disintegrate.

"Yes, but your follow up would be asking what I did." Was the snarky retort as he walked by the woman who felt deflated. "As if I'd talk to _you_ about it."

Her eyes were downcast as Vash made his way to the stairs. "I asked you not to talk to me." He said slowly looking over his shoulder at his hurt guardian. Her vision was hazed by tears realising she didn't know what to say but held firm, clenching her fist and turning with another forced smile.

"We're having fondue tonight, please stay for dinner." She said enthusiastically as if talking to her best friend and not someone that hated her.

Vash just scowled and made his way up the stairs passing Lili on the way who had been listening with her back pressed against the wall and jaw clenched. He watched as she rushed by him, bare feet tapping lightly against the wooden floor. She hugged her guardian who seemed to melt into the young girl's comforting embrace.

The Swiss boy stared at the two of them from half way up the stairs then scowled at his little sister who was glaring defiantly back at him. "Lili-." He started calmly.

"Elizabeta can you drive me to the mall please?" She asked purposefully cutting across her brother.

"Of course, I need to pick up ingredients for tonight anyway." Liz smiled gratefully twiddling with the bottom of her long, hazel hair.

"Lili!" Vash shouted his voice but drowned out by Elizabeta announcing she would get her keys and Lili, her wallet.

Once Liz had left Lili dared to turn to her brother again, fearless. "They aren't our parents! If you want to go somewhere you ask me!" He snapped the order.

"They aren't our parents but you aren't dad either, Vash." She reasoned with her voice low. "The way you talk to them isn't fair." She almost cried feeling just in her argument. Vash looked taken back as if her words had slapped him across the face. "They're nice to you but you're always so mean back! I hate it! If you're not going to talk to them, fine! But I'm not talking to you either!" She stormed by him.

"Lili!" He cried urgently; grabbing her wrist.

"Let go!" She struggled desperately, pulling, clawing at his hand, hating him with every fibre of her being. He was the reason Elizabeta and Roderich were fighting when they were such good people and he didn't care. "Get off me! I hate you!" She shouted unable to keep the tears from falling.

He froze for a moment; it hit him like a wave of nausea and made him sick. "Everything I've done has been for us." He said softly but Lili wasn't listening, she'd scratched his hand so that it drew blood but he hadn't flinched until she came in close to him and bit his hand. It didn't bleed but it left a mark and made Vash yelp. "LILI!" He shouted when she bolted away; terrified.

He chased her to their room forcing the door open and reasoning by shouting that 'you don't understand!' and 'listen to me!' She snatched her wallet from her bedside table and turned. Vash shut the door quickly and stood in front of it.

"Move!" She yelled frantically, afraid due to the rare times she'd witnessed his temper. "Vash! Move!"

He didn't so she approached him and reached for the door handle. He grabbed her hand and hugged her tightly, constricting her. "Listen to me!"

"No! Let me go!"

"I'm sorry!" He pleaded and she stopped struggling immediately. "I'm sorry I upset you; you're all I have." His words were heavy, deep and nostalgic; they carried the depression and fear he denied. "I love you, you're my little sister. Please don't hate me." Then she felt something wet hit her neck and she realised her brother was crying. She'd seen him cry once before, when their parents had died but never before or after that. Even now, she was afraid to look at his face and see the person that she knew to be invincible completely broken by her words. "I can't lose you too."

She lifted her arms and hugged him in return. "Can't you try to like Elizabeta and Roderich?" Lili asked softly and Vash's grip tightened around her.

"I-I'm sorry."

* * *

Alfred was one hundred and ten precent determined to pretend that nothing had changed between him and Arthur. He followed him like a stray puppy on Monday but avoided physical contact at all costs. Ivan wasn't at school, again, and both Yao and Vash seemed more moody than usual. Kiku was in a much better mood, he hadn't taken over the maths class again but it was obvious whatever tensions between the teacher and student, who had been avoiding talking to each other, had lifted.

During their free last period Alfred sat with Arthur and Francis in the library working on their math homework. Alfred happened to be the top student in math after Kiku but was infamous for being naturally talented and not hard working at it. Despite the rumour, he did study and was doing so now. "Haha, this topic is so easy, it's kind of fun! Isn't it _ironic_, Arthur, that it's called depression when it's fun?"

The Brit tried hard not to slap his face and even Francis burst out laughing despite being at the central table in the library. "I'm ecstatic that you finally used irony in its correct context, however; the topic you're doing now is called depreciation, not depression. Please make a note of the difference." He added dryly and the Frenchman covered a snorting giggle.

Alfred flushed and he kicked his far too amused friend under the table earning a yelp from Francis and a smirk from Arthur, the sadistic jerk. The bell rang and the two made their way to the athletics field. Despite protests Alfred had told Arthur he'd stay and stretch as well as do any exercises that didn't put too much strain on his chest.

They were the first to arrive at the oval and were barked at to change by Ludwig who was busy shouting at the Italian art teacher, Feliciano Vargas, to do another lap. Alfred and Arthur made their way to the changing rooms feeling the awkward air return between them. This was going to be an uncomfortable few minutes. They pretended not to be affected by each other when putting their bags down and pulling out their appropriate attire.

"After this, let's get something to hot drink!" Alfred suggested (shouted) and Arthur shrugged.

"Sure, I could use a cuppa about now."

"You drink too much tea… that's why you're so bitter."

"Git, coffee's bitter too!" He spluttered.

"True. But I drink soda to balance it out." Al reasoned earning a flick on the back of his head from an irritated but slightly amused Brit. Then came the awkward silence when they realized they had stalled enough and they would need to strip together… in the same room. Arthur initiated pulling his pants off first; he turned away from Al who quickly did the same. It was so unnecessarily quiet; the changing rooms were empty. They were alone. "Hey Arthur," the American turned, cheeks flushed but his embarrassment was only momentary. He saw it… the coolest thing he'd ever seen and possibly the only cool things about Arthur.

He had a fucking awesome tattoo.

The Brit visibly cringed and turned to hid his shameful mark but without meaning to be was now standing mere centimeters from Alfred who had approached him to get a better look. He had thought Arthur couldn't possibly get any more attractive but that mark was waaaayyyy too provocative. A guitar tattoo meant he was or used to be a punk. Punks were sexy.

Arthur jumped away, flustered and about four shades darker red than he was initially. "Bloody hell Alfred, personal space," he drew a metaphoric semi-circle with his finger around his body.

"Dude! You have a tattoo! That's so awesome!"

Effectively embarrassed the older teen yanked his sports shirt over his head and glared at the American. "Belt up." he muttered but Alfred was in a world of his own.

"Dude! That's why you have a guitar! Oh wait, other way around… AHAHAHA!" He was grinning, reminding Arthur of how moronic he could be. "You're full of surprises, Arthur." The comment was full of admiration and his tone was more gentle than intended reviving feelings from Saturday night.

Alfred found himself on the bench during practice, lifting weights and watching as Arthur sprinted and continued to break records set decades before him. The kid could run. But it wasn't his abilities that held the American's gaze, it was him alone. Matilda was there also, further away and working on her jumps but she no longer could keep his attention purely out of obligation. He wanted Arthur.

A tired Italian plunked down next to him on the metal bench heaving with his mouth hanging open. "Ludwig can be really scary." He panted out. "He chased me for two kilometers."

"Dude, you're speedy as. You out ran him?"

"That's because I thought he would hit me."

Alfred froze and gave a nervous laugh, "well, he wouldn't do that… ha…ha…right?"

Feliciano shook his head and smiled, "no, he's really nice and not scary at all when you get to know him… but sometimes I forget, especially when he looks angry. Oh, he's looking. Hi Ludwig!" Feli called, waving an arm enthusiastically from the bench.

Ludwig ran a hand down his face at the stupidity the Italian man showed after running away from him for an extended period of time then waving at him half a moment later. He really was a mystery. It was lucky he was cute. "Vargas! I'm not done with your training!"

"Just a moment!" He begged in a thick accent.

Alfred smiled, "you two are total opposites."

"Vehhhh…." The brunette agreed thoughtfully, "but I love him!" He announced smiling earning a look of surprise from Alfred and the blonde chick that happened to be walking by; she didn't stay frozen for long.

"That's pretty forward."

"It's true, why should I hide it?"

"W-well, you could get in trouble, I mean, not everyone's so…liberal minded. I'm just awesome like that, you know."

Feliciano smiled genuinely, opening his eyes properly to admire his boyfriend who was shouting at a group of boys to hurry up. "I only care about what he thinks though."

"VARGAS!"

"Si!" He called back running up to the trainer and latching onto his arm, allowing the man to shout at him while he chanted how sorry he was.

Alfred watched their public displays of affection with envy. Why was it so needlessly complicated for him?

Kiku made his way down the hall towards the central school exit. A promised home cooked meal from Heracles made him beam with satisfaction but he hid it beneath a mask of indifference during school hours. Yao saw him; watched him with envy. He approached the Japanese boy, tapping him on the shoulder before he could exit school grounds. Kiku turned and he gave a polite smile. "Hello Yao, how are you?"

"Fine. I haven't seen you this happy in weeks-aru. What happened?" He asked. No point beating around the bush.

Unsure whether it was a good idea to tell his friend about the relationship that he disapproved approved of Kiku just shrugged. "Nothing in particular. Do you need something?"

Yao opened his mouth to further question his friend then stopped. It killed him that their friendship was still so strained after making up. They had spent a week separated and acted as they had before Ivan or Heracles came into their lives. Completely innocent and free from any discomforts the world would pay them. Happy. It was as if his soul had been sucked from him and he stood emotionless now in front of someone he cared about. Kiku had nothing to do with him anymore, it was time to grow up and stop obsession over what he didn't have and focus on those that were important to him.

"No, nothing, I just wanted to check on you and make sure you're okay-aru."

"You're a good friend, Yao."

"…" He flushed and waved his hand once, turning and starting for the exit first then stopped, "Kiku, my mum misses you a lot. You should come by to keep her company sometimes-aru."

"Of course." He looked confused but smiled anyway despite Yao being turned away. That smile was haunting him because he couldn't have it. Any relationship between them was impossible simply because Yao wanted something that wasn't friendship and Kiku couldn't even trust Yao as a friend.

* * *

His legs had never hurt so much before, Arthur decided as he took a seat next to Alfred on the bench. "Question." Alfred announced loudly and Arthur gave him a quizzical look. "Why don't you sweat?"

"I do too." He huffed whipping away droplets from his forehead and rubbing his palm on Alfred who squirmed.

"Ewwww! Nasty!" He laughed elbowing the Brit who smirked back at him. "Let's get changed and get coffee."

"Mind if I come?" Pipped a voice from in front of them, the two turned from the bubble of their world to see Matilda standing in front of them, "I'll shout* you both." She offered as if needing to bribe the two.

Arthur's breath caught and Alfred froze as reality came crashing down on them. "Of course, and it's my treat." Arthur insisted but Alfred looked as though he would be sick.

"I don't want to go anymore. Not feeling so good." He suddenly stood, I'll see you guys. And he took off.

"Alfred!" Arthur called.

"Wait!" Matilda shouted.

Well this wasn't awkward. Arthur had only kissed his friend's boyfriend the other night. No big deal… crap, did she know?

"Oh well, let's go." She smiled at the Brit who was going to throttle that American son of a bitch when he saw him next.

* * *

Sitting in the café three doors down from their school Arthur wasn't able to sit still. He crossed and uncrossed his legs, played with the saucer and drummed his fingers rhythmically to keep a steady conversation about England. The only thing they had in common. Well, apart from hooking up with Alfred. "I actually really wanted to talk to you today." She said, finger tracing the edge of the teacup, "I know what happened between you and Al."

Arthur took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. "We were drunk."

"It's okay." She laughed then looked down. "He's an amazing person, and I can see why you like him. I did for the longest time."

"Did?" His heart hammered away in the small hope that Tilly would end things with Alfred. Ouch, that was a horrible thought on his behalf.

"Yeah, but I can't give him to you. Okay?" She looked at him as if she was struggling with what to say next. She was playing with her short, brown hair and biting at the corner of her lips. "I don't want to be alone and with Al at least I'm safe."

"Matilda, leaving me out of the equation; are you happy with Alfred?"

"I care about him a lot."

"That's not what I'm asking. Are you happy in your relationship?"

"…" She had no answer except for tears which she held back with a sniff.

Arthur reached a hand across the table and took hers. "You're not alone. You have so many friends that love you and want to see you happy. Be with whoever you want to be with."

"You're saying that because you like Alfred." She muttered bitterly.

"No, I'm not. I promise. Antonio, Jean, Bella, Francis, Gilbert, Kiku, Matthew… they all want to see you happy and not trying to make something work out of a bad situation." He reasoned.

Matilda rolled her eyes suddenly regretting her wish of having a gay best friend. They sucked. "I'm sorry, mate." She drew her hand back. "I'm going to keep him for a little while longer."

"I'm glad we could talk today." Arthur said suddenly. "It's made me realise it's okay to fight for what I want in this case. I have no intention of letting you sacrifice my happiness as well as Alfred's and your own for your personal agenda."

Matilda scowled. "You don't understand. I'm not going to lose what I have. I had nothing before and now I've made something that makes me feel safe."

"You can't live your life governed by safety."

"I can and I will. I've put up with too much shit already."

"You're not the only one that has." He snapped back at her and she looked startled. "You're right though, I don't understand you. I'd sacrifice safety for happiness any day. I'm not afraid to lose everything for a chance to gain what I want."

Both sat quietly then. Matilda looked as though someone had eaten the last cookie from the cookie jar. A feeling of betrayal and hurt washed through her and she wiped away the fast falling tears. "Shit," she whispered.

"Sorry, love. Didn't mean to upset you." Arthur stood coming over to her.

"Have him!" She suddenly cried and the half empty café turned to watch as the girl dashed from the door broken hearted. Arthur was on one knee and acted as the suspected culprit. People grimaced and scowled but he paid no noticed, slipping a few bills on the table and leaving the shop.

* * *

*This is something my friend says on a daily basis to her mum XD despite that they're so close!

*In Australia if I 'shout' you it means I'll pay for you. According to my beta (who's too busy to beta because of finals) this is Aussie slang.

* * *

Again, it may be a fortnight before I can do anymore writing purely because of my project (40% of my grade... I'm not stressed for nothing XD) so I'm gunna say sorry now... I'm sorry .

Thanks for reading! I love you all!

X Neve


	21. Were you always this selfish?

**Were you always this selfish?**

The title says all about this chapter...  
I'm sorry I was away for so long... last two weeks of school were beyond insane. I'm on holidays now so I want to try to post a chapter a week for the next while :D This chapter however... totally rushed and only edited briefly.

Get ready to hate Tilly (more if you already do).

Fun fact about Austalian holidays (during finals): you're expected to do a minimum of six hours study a day. A teacher at my school told my class 'you can do an effective fifteen hours of study every day'... Not so sure if that's the same where you live but to me that is literal toture.

Shout out to my lovely reviewers: MimmiTheOtaku, Zszszszszs, xxalexisurgodxx, vampiregirl878, HaloHeart, Tomoji The Grave Digger, xXJustLeSha96Xx, What'sMyName'sBusiness, Mya3dan, xzyaoi and sister momo.

* * *

Staring at his little sister Vash let out a low, disapproving growl. Lili was across the rather large and crowded hallway talking to…a boy… and not just any boy but that fucking player Im Young in grade 10. "If looks could kill." Gilbert laughed appearing beside the Swiss teen who quickly shifted his glare to the German.

Vash was silent before snapping, "I don't want that guy hanging around my sister."

Gilbert made circular motion with an index finger, "Stop your hovering, you overprotective helicopter."

"What?"

"You're worse than a jealous boyfriend." He smirked and Vash looked back towards his little sister who was laughing at the Chinese boy's jokes. "Stop, it's totally unawesome." He placed a hand on his head and turned it towards him.

"Can you just get her for me?"

"Yeah…no." He rolled his eyes and turned to look over his shoulder when he felt a frail hand on his shoulder. "What?"

"Please?" Vash begged and for a moment he looked desperate, fragile. He glanced over at his little sister who it seemed had been convinced to feel Im Young's biceps. "I really need you to do this."

Gilbert was at loss of what to say then gave an obnoxious laugh, "Kesesese!" The strangest snickering sound known to man. "Of course you NEED ME, because I'm awesome." He then turned his heal and strutted towards the two with his usual smirk. "Hi!" He blew unwantedly into their conversation. "Lili, go on a date with me."

"What?" She asked turning red from ear to ear. Vash could be heard even on the science floor three levels up slamming his locker shut and ready to shoot Gilbert.

"Come on, we'll talk about it over here." He took her hand in his and led the confused and dazed girl from Im Young.

"Wait!" He called out but Vash had already closed in on him.

"Are you Yao's little brother?" He asked in a voice cold to the touch.

"Yeah." He gave Vash a disinterested look.

"Okay, then I'm not going to beat the shit out of you this time but don't ever touch my little sister again." He stood at eye level with the unfazed younger teen. Im Young just winked at him slyly then brushed by him. "Oi!" Vash called out but he found himself ignored.

Gilbert was still holding Lili's hand loosely and grinning to himself after what he felt him being heroic-ly awesome. "Um, I didn't get to say good bye to-." She looked over her shoulder to see her brother confronting Im Young. Both looked determined. Neither seemed to be considering her feelings in the matter. "Wait!" She pulled at Gilbert's sleeve weakly.

"What were you thinking; flirting with a guy like him is just going to piss your brother off." He dragged her to the side where a number of pewter lockers lined the cream hallway walls.

She looked troubled then said simply, "so you lied about the date. I thought that was strange."

"Are you angry at Vash?" He asked sceptically since he'd known the two for years and never once witnessed them fight. She cringed at what she took as an accusation.

"He's ruining my life." She said feeling tears come to her eyes. "I want him to stop trying to control everything I do."

"And flirting with that dick's going to make him back off?" He asked almost laughing then he became more serious. "Okay, so I never say things like this because it's totally not awesome… so yeah; I never said this… but, you're like my little sister and seeing you throw yourself at boys who don't deserve you pisses me off too."

"I wasn't throwing-!" She started; looking at him wide eyed. Lili knew that Gilbert was fond of her since he'd spent weeks at a time with Vash during their younger years. She'd always looked up to him as the fun older brother that had the best stories and funniest jokes.

"Don't make reckless decisions just to annoy your brother. You're being self-centred." He thumped her head lightly with his fist. "He's not the only one that's going to get upset."

Lili clenched her fist as if trying to crush her hatred in the palm of her hand, "I know, but it's worth it." She said in a voice just above a whisper.

"What did he do?" Gilbert asked when thin lines of crimson trickled along Lili's knuckles and dripped to the floor. "Lili? Oh shit." He saw the blood and placed a hand on her shoulder. He reached for her hand but she clasped them behind her back.

"He told me I'm all he has but I have no one." Tears fell from the corner of her eyes in tight lines down her cheeks. "He won't take money from Elizabeta or Roderich and they're always fighting about him. He's killing the only family I have left. He's never home because he's always working and he hates me going out without him. He doesn't think about how I feel when he's never with me. I have to introduce my friends to him before I can go out with them and I can't talk to boys except you and sometimes Kiku." She vented, not breathing throughout the entire rant. "I wish he'd just leave me alone. If he hates Elizabeta and Roderich, fine, he should leave."

Gilbert had never been particularly good at the whole deep and meaningful conversations so he stood with an eye twitching. Fuck. Should he hug her? Did she need a pep talk? He didn't know what to say. "Um, well, you know Vash loves you a lot. Have you told him all this?"

"He wouldn't listen."

"Yes he would."

"He's never home."

"Don't make up excuses." He frowned. "You have no one but yourself to blame." She shook her head, hating not having his sympathy when she saw herself as the victim.

"You're just taking his side because you like him!" She accused him and Gilbert cracked a smile at the idea. "Don't deny it, you've always been obsessed with my brother."

"Wha-."

"You like Vash." She marvelled, backing away from the German who was now stunned silent. "That's the only reason you talk to me either." Lili clasped her bloody hand over her mouth then jumped when she tasted the iron and looked at her damaged palm with wide eyes.

"LILI!" Vash shouted when he saw her mouth stained red. She managed to glance at her older brother, their eyes met and mixed emotions filled the space between them as he approached her. "What happened?" He looked at Gilbert who was frowning at her.

The Swiss girl looked between the two who were staring intently at her and she backed away until she was sprinting towards the nearest bathroom to wash the metallic taste from her mouth and tend to her wounded hand.

* * *

When Alfred came into school the next day his face met with Arthur's fist. "Alfred you git!" He shouted and the American stumbled back grasping his cheek. It had been a half-hearted punch but enough that it gave him relief. After all, the git deserved it since he'd abandoned Arthur with his (ex?) girlfriend.

"I know I deserved that." He waved his hands back and forth when he noticed Arthur's fists curled, ready to strike again. "I'm sorry! I freaked out! Mercy! Mercy!" He dropped onto his knees and hugged the Brit's legs together.

"On your feet and face me like a man Jones!" He tried shaking his legs free from the python grip but failed. What was worse was the crowd that was staring at the ridiculous display. In actual fact Arthur was in a much better mood after Tilly had told him that he could 'have' Alfred but he still had his doubts that it would be that easy. She didn't seem the type to give up without a fight. Not that he knew her particularly well.

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Belt up you brat." He sighed and Alfred jumped up enthusiastically. "I know you're trying to turn this into a joke but I'm pretty annoyed at you still."

"Sorry."

"Tilly knows about what happened. I would have been surprised if she didn't." He sighed then smiled at Alfred, "so, I was wondering if-."

"Boo!" Came a voice and a pair of hands slapped both boys on their backs. "Hey guys!" Matilda smiled then latched onto Alfred's arm, "you didn't come home last night, Al, where were you?"

Alfred's face paled but he tried to compose himself, "I sent mom a text saying I was at Kiku's. Just felt like having a gaming night, did I miss anything?"

"Yep, we voted that you were shouting coffee next time, right Arthur?" She asked with a bright smile.

Arthur was beyond confused staring at the completely deranged girl. This was exactly why he didn't date women. They were fucking complex. "Right…" He sounded absent.

"I have a council meeting now, see you!" She grinned then almost skipped away. Arthur decided that she was bipolar in the least and looked at Alfred who was watching her with one eye cocked.

"She's in a good mood…" He observed, "I never know what she's thinking."

"Or scheming." Arthur ground out. "Let's just go to class." He felt deflated after getting his hopes up that the loveless couple would break up. Maybe he'd misinterpreted.

* * *

Arthur had been looking forward to PE so that he could have a chance to confront Matilda but she had run off with her girlfriends who Arthur had yet to meet. They had seen him at Felix's party and were sending him death threats in the form of glares... Probably for good reason since he'd hooked up with their friend's boyfriend. During lunch Arthur managed to pull her aside as they walked to the table. "So you won't break up with him then?"

"I never said I would. I said you can have him." Tilly tried not to snap or look upset but was failing miserably. "But you have to take him because I'm not going to end it." She crossed her arms across her chest. "We'll break up when he wants to. Clearly he doesn't now though."

If Arthur's jaw could disconnect it would be on the floor. "I can't begin to imagine why an amazing person like Alfred would date someone so selfish."

"Aren't you being just a little selfish too? You're pressuring me to break up with the first guy that I liked and that liked me because you're jealous." She snapped turning to him fully. "So convince him to break up with me. That way I'm not the bitch that dumped the most popular guy in school." Her narrowed eyes revealed the hatred she held for Arthur.

"Is being popular that important to you?" He scoffed.

"It's not like you could understand, mate. I can't afford to lose my friends when they're all I have."

"You genuinely believe they won't like you if you break up with Alfred?"

"Why would they? Like you said, I'm selfish and he's amazing." She sighed, "they're not going to take my side."

"What side?" He shouted exhasperated, "it's no one else's business who you both date! Don't you trust your friends that they'll still care about you even if in the worst case scenario you never talk to Alfred again?" Matilda was starting to feel nauseous and shook her head weakly. "Then what's keeping you from-." He grabbed her shoulders and shook her twice.

"I'm scared, okay? God, why did you have to move here? You should have stayed in England." She gave a weak and bitter chuckle, "you ruined everything."

Arthur removed his hands from her shoulders and stared at her with his eyebrows knitted together, neither knowing what to say or do. He suddenly turned before he did something he would regret and Matilda left in the opposite direction, heading for the bathroom when the all too familiar nausea surfaced.

The minute he approached the table he was greeted by warm smiles and remarks about how slowly he walked. Alfred was chatting at Gilbert who it appeared was convinced that he had made progress in winning Elizabeta over. There was something off about Gilbert; like his 'awesome' was deflated slightly but Alfred had remained oblivious. "Al," Arthur sat next to him, "do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

"Are you cooking?"

"Why?"

"No reason." He said almost too quickly.

Arthur didn't believe him. "I'm not, but even if I was you would still come over, right?"

"Whatever you say Artie." He laughed then froze realising he'd called his friend by his despised nickname. "Arthur, I mean, sorry." He stuttered, fearing the Brit's wrath.

Arthur rolled his eyes, "don't worry about it." Then he looked over his shoulder at where the Spaniard usually sat, "where's Antonio?"

* * *

Lovino Vargas sat grading papers with a scowl on his face. Why was his class full of fucking dimwits? Who the hell thought they could get away with circling two bubbles in multiple choice for one question. Stupid. They get zero.

There was a click as the wooden door opened to the classroom and Antonio entered. "You work too much Lovi," he smiled, "but I'm so proud of you."

"Quit trying to make yourself sound older than you are, you're just a brat." He continued to draw large crosses on his papers.

Antonio looked at him with pure adoration, "that's so cruel," he laughed then pulled a chair over to his desk. "So…Can I come over tonight?" He asked then blew a large green bubble with his gum which popped over his lips.

"No and ew, spit that crap out."

"Pleeeeeaaaasssseeee?" His hands encircled Lovino's arm and he shook the man back and forth so he swayed in his seat. "We can't do it at my house! Let me come over pleeeeaaaaasssseeeee." He tried to ignore the plea when the motion made him draw a large red mark across a student's paper instead of a cross.

"You're so annoying," He snatched his arm back. "Look what you did!"

The Spaniard just smiled. "haha, sorry."

"It's not funny," he muttered. "You're being selfish. I wish you'd just grow up Antonio." He sounded genuinely annoyed.

Toni sensed the irritation and sat on the desk, overtop of his work. "Do you really want that?"

"Of course, you're so fucking annoying." He sighed pushing back his chair and crossing his arms and legs. "Get off my desk, I hate looking up at you."

"Why?"

"I don't need a reason, just do it."

"No." He grinned.

The teacher stood up, towering over Antonio and placed a hand in his mess of hair. "My brother's coming over with his stupid ass boyfriend tonight. We can't get caught." Toni smirked and Lovino frowned. "Don't even think about asking again." He thumped his head with his fist then let it drop to his side.

Suddenly the Spaniard slipped his thumb and index finger between his lips and withdrew the gum he'd been chewing on for the past half hour. He proceeded to stick it on the underside of his lover's desk. "I can't tonight, I have detention."

"Wha-oh! Hey! Don't decide these things on your own."

Antonio grabbed Lovino's tie and dragged him down, crashing their lips together. His mouth tasted like the apple gum he'd been chewing on. Such an odd flavour but it added texture to the kiss. He quickly drew back and admired Lovino's red face. "You said it yourself, I'm a brat. So punish me." He whispered in the teacher's ear in a husky and flirtatious voice. "Punish me, Lovi."

"Stop it you little bastard." He protested when he felt his lobe being nibbled on. "Don't bite me!"

"But you're so tasty."

"And scrape that gum off of my desk. That's disgusting."

"You're no fun."

"It's called growing up. You should try it." He placed his head his hand and stared at the papers as if hoping they would do something interesting. After fifteen seconds of tapping his pen on the side of his desk he snapped. "Go away! What do you want?"

"Nothing," he grinned, cocking his head to the side. The sun beat shining through the window behind him and lining his chocolate hair with a copper colour. His smile was so sweet and innocent Lovino wondered if he knew what it felt like to have your heart broken. "I'm happy spending time with you like this."

Lovino made a disapproving 'tch' sound and stood up, walking around so that he sat on his desk and faced the student. "The history staffroom will be empty after four… if you want to stay you can… but…"

He hadn't realised that he'd dropped his gaze until Antonio stretched out his hand towards his chest and captured his tie, sliding his hand along it while drawing this faces closer together. "Don't say 'but', I'm happy that you asked me and of course I'll wait!" He smiled tugging on his tie numerous times. "I love you, Lovi." He chuckled then placed a delicate kiss on his parted lips.

"Don't be stupid." He muttered yanking his tie free and returning to the obviously more interesting paper. "Just be back here by four."

* * *

Alfred chatted at Arthur excitedly as they made their way to the bus stop and over to his house. The Brit tried to hold a conversation but ended up drifting in and out of the present as he remembered earlier on that day. How the hell did you convince someone that they are with the wrong person without sounding like a dick? 'Hey! Hey! You! You! I don't like your girlfriend! No way! No way! I think you need a new one! Hey! Hey! You! You! I could be your _boyfriend_!'* Well, it would work in some aspects. Alfred would most likely pick up the pop culture reference; however, whether or not the message would actually sink in was debatable.

"You've been kinda quiet, everything okay?" He asked and Arthur put on his best smile.

"I don't mean to be; I must just be tired."

"EW! You smiled! And it was totally uncalled for!" Alfred suddenly said a bit louder than necessary. A number of eyes turned to face them and Arthur elbowed the American in his rib. "I was kidding, but seriously are you alright?"

For a split second Arthur wanted to come clean and tell him exactly what was happening, but he couldn't. It would make him sound like a jerk and his scheming may cost him his friendship with Alfred. "I'm fine." He decided, leaning against the glass on the bus near the back doors. The two stood facing each other but looking at their feet.

"That's good… I'm cold."

"I didn't ask, but I'm sorry to hear that."

"Give me your scarf." He whined motioning to the red and black checked scarf that hung loosely around his neck.

"Get your own." Arthur spat back childishly.

"Don't be so mean!"

"You started it, you git."

Alfred pouted then moved closer to Arthur. "But I'm cooooollllllld." He hugged the Brit who stiffened but didn't protest. Honestly, friends (and boys in particular) didn't show such public displays of affection. He leant his weight lazily against the American. "This isn't helping he observed."

"Then get off me."

"…" he said nothing then in a hushed voice, just above a whisper he admitted, "I don't want to." He should have played it off as a joke but couldn't find the motivation to pretend anymore.

* * *

*Song is 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne- in other words: No, I don't own it.

I love Spamano... love love love love love it!

Also: there's this fic I read rescently which is a bazillion times better than mine and I don't feel gets enough credit called I'm on a Boat by atramentaceous. I don't really know the author... still I strongly dislike it when I see talent that recieves less praise than what I think it's worth. So, check it out. It's USUK, humour/romance and amazing.

See you in a week *crosses fingers*

x neve


	22. What should I do with this?

Late update, I'm sorry. I've had a lot of family shit to deal with so this update was hard for me to write... but anyway~ I hope you are all having a good holiday! I'm not thrilled with this chapter...at all... but hey, it's gotten where it needed to go. Kind of rushed... sorry for mistakes!

Thank you: vampiregirl878, Choco-Pocky-Usa-Chan, atramentaceous, xXJustLeSha96Xx, Tomoji The Grave Digger, UnluckyWriter, HaloHeart, AoiBaraka, xzyaoi, MimmiTheOtaku, Mya3dan, Mi Tomato and Purple Sky Juliet.

Love you all~

* * *

Alfred kept his arms firmly around the Brit's waist. "This is really embarrassing." He muttered as he felt eyes watching them. To Arthur, it was incredible that they hadn't been kicked off any bus by now since he'd yet to endure a bus ride without Alfred acting up.

"Why?"

"Can't you read the atmosphere?"

"Who's it by?"

"Oh… Alfred.

"Kidding! Kidding…" He laughed nervously but did nothing to shift his grip around the older teen.

"You're such a bloody moron." He scoffed, turning his head in mock annoyance. He continued to lean lethargically against Alfred and closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet scent of icing sugar that clung to his bomber jacket.

The two stayed like this until the doors opened to their stop. The American grinned, hopping off the bus and dragging the Brit with him. "This is going to be sweet! What are we going to do?"

Arthur rolled him eyes, "sure, like we ever plan anything."

"True that." He shoved his hands deep into his pockets then grinned at Arthur. When they finally arrived at the familiar cream coloured house Alfred was greeted by Peter who pounced on him from behind before the front door was open. He'd walked home from his school and seen the two from a distance but chose to stalk his prey before attacking them.

Naturally, he was scolded by Arthur who reminded him that this wasn't how they treated guests but secretly thought it was endearing the way the two had wrestled for the next five minutes. "Dirty shoes off." He pointed at the faded sneakers Alfred wore which were lined with grime. "Honestly, how do you get your shoes that filthy?"

"I 'unno." He kicked them off, ignoring how the dirt made its way onto Arthur's freshly vacuumed floor. He scowled at the other who happily pranced up the stairs to the Brit's bedroom. "Man, why do you keep your room so clean? It would drive me crazy."

"There's nothing wrong with organisation, Alfred."

"Well, whatever, I'm hungry. Fix it."

Arthur smacked his shoulder lightly, as if to scold him, then shrugged, "we don't have much; can't you wait until dinner?"

"Oh God! I'm going to starve!" He groaned, clasping his arms tightly around his stomach.

"You will not you child." He scoffed but led them into the kitchen anyway. "Have whatever you want." He said in a bland voice, finding the newspaper on the counter top and opening it with a flick on his wrist.

Well, Arthur wasn't exaggerating when he said they didn't have much. Most of it was vegetables and fruits, then his eyes hit something too tempting to resist. He pulled out a bowl of fresh cherries. "Score!" He closed the fridge with his foot lazily and cradled the fruit to his chest. "Hey, hey, check this out!" Instead of placing the cherry in his mouth he picked the stem off and placed it on his tongue. He was grinning as he toyed with the stem… darn it was harder than he thought. After two minutes of simply staring Arthur approached him and followed suit, taking only fifteen seconds before he stuck out his tongue with a perfectly tied knot on it.

Alfred gaped and removed his chewed stem from his mouth. "Holy shit! You have to teach me how to do that!" He bounced up and down, excited from the quick display. The Brit simply smirked having perfected that trick long ago; it was cute how excited Alfred was about it.

"Fine, go on, take a new one." So much for being hungry. "Now bend it with your tongue, like this." He popped the stem in his own mouth and slid his teeth along them, folding it over his tongue by clamping his teeth lightly. He showed Alfred who followed suit then eyes widened… Oh fuck. This was hot. He had stopped listening. His lips had stopped moving in order to fully concentrate on those of the English teen's. The way they crashed together, his teeth grazing his tongue which worked the stem. Without meaning to he was leaning closer.

Arthur, who was too caught up in focusing on his cherry stem, hadn't noticed the closing distance until he was mere inches away. "Al-?" He was cut off by lips crashing against his own, pressing close and begging for access. Arthur's only reaction was opening his mouth slightly and allowing the other teen access.

Suddenly, Alfred pulled away, cheeks flushed and looking apologetic. "U-um… you do it."

"Do what?" He asked frowning and a brilliant red; he smirked when he felt both stems in his mouth and worked. He pressed his fingers to his lips and pulled a single knot having tied to two together.

Alfred fidgeted with another cherry before popping the actual fruit between his lips. "Hey, Arthur."

"Hm?"

"I really like you."

* * *

Matilda's phone buzzed as she spread a thin layer of vegemite across her toast. She flipped it open.

_Francis: I'm sorry. Are you still mad at me?_

A frown etched into Tilly's face and she quickly replied.

_Matilda: Depends. How drunk were you?_

_Francis: Not very._

_Matilda: Couldn't you lie and say you were?_

_Francis: I don't want to lie to you. Can't I come over?_

She slammed the phone onto the dark granite counter hard enough that the red cover chipped. Despite knowing that she probably looked crazy she grabbed at her head and groaned. Her phone buzzed again.

_Francis: Please?_

Matilda took a bite out of her toast and with one arm on the counter she hopped so that she was sitting on it.

_Matilda: …What time?_

Less than five seconds later the doorbell rang and she froze mid chew, staring at the door way which would lead her to the door. She quickly whipped her mouth with a clean dish cloth and scurried to the door. "Who is it?"

"C'est moi. (It's me)." Was the answer and Matilda hesitantly opened the door. She knew it was impossible for her to stay mad at him if she saw his face. "Salut. (Hi.)" Her eyes refused to meet his in fear of forgiving him before he had grovelled.

"Hey." She dodged a kiss on the cheek when it came her way and crossed her arms, looking over her right shoulder towards the floor. "What is it?"

"I came to apologise." Francis looked over her shoulder as if expecting her to move from the centre of the door way. Sure, like he was coming in. "Listen, I'm sorry if I upset you… but-."

"No, no but. You just can't do that Francis, not when I'm dating someone else, even if the situation is fucked up. Alfred's your friend." She stated then wiped at the corner of her eyes before any tears could fall.

Upon seeing her distressed he pulled her into a reluctant hug. "I am sorry, please don't cry." He ran his hands up and down between her shoulder blades, not daring to let them fall too low and give her the wrong impression.

Matilda sniffed and lifted her arms slowly, clinging to his back. She leaned into him and took a sharp breath. He smelt like roses. Like fucking roses, and yet it suited him and soothed her. "You can come in," she said into his shoulder.

"Merci (thank you)." He drew back and took her hand as she led them into the house. "Is Mathieu home?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs. Al's not though." Part of her knew bringing up Alfred was a stupid idea because she didn't want to fight with Francis anymore. Still, she felt this was a hopeless situation and wasn't quite finished talking about it. "Do you want anything? You hungry? Thirsty?" Horny? She didn't ask the last one but boy it was tempting.

He quickly released her hand at the mention of her boyfriend because he didn't want to push anything. "I am fine, thank you." Francis shrugged then took a seat at her dining room table, pulling his legs up onto the chair and staring at her. "I broke up with Bella."

"What?" Tilly shouted turning on her heal quickly. "Why?"

"Because I only like 'er as a friend." He continued to stare at her; stoic expression unwavering.

"Is she okay?"

"She took it well but I believe she iz a bit upset." He set an elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand.

Matilda took a seat next to him, fingers tracing along the glass and leaving a streak where the warmth of her fingers had touched. "Francis, I don't like you like that. Why don't you go out with Jean? She loves you so much and I know you're really close with her."

A sigh escaped the French teen whose eyes drifted to the dark, polished floor then back to Matilda. "Who do you like zen?"

"What?"

"Iz zere someone? Tell me who and I will never tell you my feelings again."

Her cheeks started to flush and she pouted, "You will otherwise?"

"Oui."

"Alright then, yeah, there is someone I've liked for a really long time, but nothing's going to come of it, so don't go there…" She told him bitterly, "ever since I was about, like, eight… I've liked Matt." Her voice had turned almost to a whisper, fearing the boy may hear them talking. "If you tell anyone I'll castrate you."

Francis was silent then his lips quirked into a smile, "well, 'ave you told 'im zis?"

"What? No! He seriously doesn't like me like that."

"'ow do you know zat?" Francis smirked, already scheming a way for her to confess to Mathew. Tilly didn't say anything, afraid that Mathew may hear them talking… but really she just didn't know what to say.

* * *

Ivan knocked timidly on the door to the Edelstein residence in hope that Vash would answer the door and not Elizabeta or Roderich. He was pretty shy when it came to talking to adults. There was no answer but he found the door unlocked and so he let himself in. This wasn't breaking and entering…right? Well, not that it really mattered. He shut the door and called out, announcing his presence but the house remained silent, echoing slightly. He scowled and hopped up the stairs, two at a time. There was a distinct shuffling coming from Vash's room.

"Vash, I do not appreciate you being-," he froze when he opened the door. Lili sat on the floor, hunched over and shaking with a white bottle of what Ivan thought was detergent in her hands. "Are you alright?" He asked but she didn't look up, she brought the bottle to her lips, eyes glazed over and hands so jittery that they spilt the white liquid over her mouth. It dribbled down her chin and onto her black, long-sleeved shirt. "What are you-." She looked completely distraught, with lips quivering and eyebrows furrowed.

Lili coughed violently and dropped the container, spilling the left over content. She let out a cry and collapsed to the ground. Quickly Ivan rushed to her finally seeing the label on the bottle which indicated it was 'bleach'. Panicking, he hulled her up, ignoring her screaming and beating at his chest. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled for an ambulance. He hugged Lili close to him, carrying her down the stairs and sitting on the last few with her in his lap. "Y-yo-." She tried to say but felt nausea hit her and tipped her head down, sick all down her shirt and spilling onto Ivan.

His mask didn't falter for a second; he remained only concerned for her, not letting his eyes leave her even to see the damage done to his favourite jacket. As long as she'd missed his scarf… "Please do not be speaking," he tried to tell her in broken English and in an accent so thick she could only barely understand him. "Everything will be alright," he whispered when she was violently sick again, trying to pull away and now hysterical as the pain of her insides burning devoured her.

It had been half a minute since he'd called and Ivan was worried that this would take too long; he scooped her up again and brought her to the kitchen, fumbling with her in his arms to pull out a carton of milk. He set her down on the dining room table and she collapsed to the side, shivering. The Russian teen yanked her into a sitting position and forced the milk between slightly swollen lips so she could drink it. She cringed; eyes closed but didn't fight the relief. She was sick again and Ivan knew soon her blood would be poisoned by the acid. He swore in Russian and brought her out, onto the terrace.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, an unusual sound for him to be thankful for. Lili had passed out in his arms, clutching his coat and still looking in pain. He would have to call Vash.

* * *

"I really like you."

The knotted cherry stems fell to the boarder-line-obsessively clean floor as Arthur stared at Alfred. Al scratched the back of his neck, nervous from the lack of reaction he'd received thus far. "Sorry, I mean… I just wanted you to know that." He was a deep crimson and staring directly at him; if he wavered Arthur make think he was insincere.

"W-well what do you want me to do about it?" He asked stupidly with the accompanying scowl.

"What?"

"You're the one with the bloody girlfriend, what am I meant to do?"

"Huh? Oh my god, Arthur…" And he called Alfred thick? That was the most unbelievable thing to say when someone's just worked up the nerve to confess their feelings. He moved in, grabbing his shoulders firmly and pressed his lips to the Brit's who bristled slightly then relaxed. This was wrong and they knew it.

Arthur's hands balled behind Alfred's back as the younger teen's wandered, exploring his back, torso and dropping slightly. Arthur withdrew quickly and frowned. "You're a git, you know that?"

"Yeah," he adorned that goofy grin that caused Arthur to cross his arms.

"Well, I like you too…" His heart pounded as he was pulled into a hug that crushed his arms to his side and most likely caused Alfred an immense amount of pain to his fractured rib.

"Arthur, please don't make me go home tonight." He whispered into the Brit's ear. "Please…" He begged and Arthur gave him a reassuring hug.

Peter, who had been outside the glass, back door slid it open and gave the two a quick scowl before marching by them. "You're so gross." He grumbled, secretly excited at the prospect of seeing Alfred more but completely and utterly disturbed by the traumatic images of the two hooking up in their kitchen. Really, he was lucky it was just that…

Both teens flushed but Alfred quickly regained his composure and chuckled. "Don't laugh, the brat was probably scared." Arthur mumbled pulling out of Alfred's hold and crossing his arms tightly. "So… will you break up with Tilly?"

Alfred exhaled slowly and leant against the counter top. "I will, but not now… so please don't make me go home. I can't handle Matt or Tilly at the moment."

Arthur sighed and tipped his head, kissing Alfred's lips softly then shook his head. "You can stay here as long as you'd like."

* * *

I wonder if there is anyone normal left in this fic... Oh well, who wants to be normal anyway? Lili's suicide was based off a friend of mine who did something similar (but she's fine now!) and it made me really upset when I heard about how she tried to burn her insides with bleach. Depression is a mental illness and a lot of the times uncontrolable.

I posted a oneshot rescently~ I'd love it if you would check it out!

Hopefully next chapter won't take as long to write...


	23. Hiatus

Hiatus Note:

I'm sorry for the long waits between chapters. The only real explanation I can give is that I'm in my final year at high school and the amount of work is fairly demanding. I apologise again as I will have to take a three week break.

My first set of finals (known as HSC Trials in case you were wondering) is in a week and lasts for two weeks. I have four exams a week so I won't have breaks between them to write really.

I have half of the next chapter typed but at the moment it is completely focused on Lili and Vash and I feel it's not long enough (or good enough) to post just yet.

So, I guess I'll see you guys in three weeks or so. I'll do my best to post then!

One more time: I'm sorry…

X Neve


	24. This is how it happened

I'm back~!

My exams finished last week but I couldn't post straight away... mainly because my laptop decided to crash the day before my exams finished... thank God the computer guy was able to recover everything... still, I only got my laptop back Tuesday and it took me a few days to get this out.

For the next few months posting will be slow because of finals. I'm expected to do four hours of work every night which doesn't leave much time for posting. I'll do my best though!

Thanks for sticking with me!

And thanks to everyone that reviewed (posting this quickly before I leave for work so I can't go through and name you all... BUT I LOVE YOU!)

* * *

The second Vash received Ivan's call he rushed from his work at the car wash, most likely not to find himself on the next work roster due to a few choice words he had for his boss. The hospital was only a few blocks away so he sprinted, feet barely brushing against the ground as he bolted. All Ivan had told him was that Lili was in the hospital and to come quickly. He had always warned Ivan not to go near his little sister. He didn't trust the Russian boy, he had a habit of breaking promises and hurting the people he was closest too. If Lili had acted as the victim to his dangerous world he would never forgive himself for becoming involved in it.

He reached the reception desk, breathing heavily and with a light shine to his face from the unexpected exercise. When he reached the room he saw Ivan sitting outside with Elizabeta and Roderich. Both teachers looked distressed with their hands clasped tightly together in an attempt to support each other. "Vash…" Elizabeta looked up at the hysterical teen.

"What happened? Where's Lili?" He yelled and Ivan stood, far stronger than the couple and knowing he would be the only one truly able to explain the situation. "Ivan! What did you do?"

"I want you to calm down before I tell you."

"Shut up! What happened!"

"I said-."

"That's my fucking little sister in there! Tell me what happened!"

Without warning Ivan's hand clasped around Vash's blue uniform collar and dragged their faces inches apart. "Calm. Down." He spaced the words out venomously. His violet eyes were cold and the usual smile he wore had been replaced by a violent scowl. Vash said nothing, shocked by the vicious display against him and the intense look he was receiving.

"I can't." He replied gruffly but his voice had lowered considerably.

Then there was a smile once again on Ivan's face, washing away all traces of the frown he had adorned. "We will be back." He turned to Elizabeta and Roderich who were on their feet, ready to separate the two if a fight had broken loose.

"I don't think-." She started but her husband squeezed her hand and she looked to him, unsure. He simply nodded at the Russian.

"We will be back." He led the frazzled Swiss boy down the hall and around the corner to an empty lounge room. "Sit." He said gently but with the same firm tone.

Vash hesitated before complying. "What happened?" He asked, still determined and shaken but no longer hysteric.

Ivan sat across from him with a stoic expression staring down at him. "Your little sister tried to kill herself."

"You're lying." He snapped. "What the fuck happened to her?"

"Do not be accusing me of lying, Vash." He replied acidly. "She is in surgery at this second to get her stomach pumped."

"NO!" He yelled. "That's not what happened! You must have-!"

"Vash!" He cut across the boy. "I have a little sister too, I know what she means to you."

"You don't understand anything!" At this Ivan stood up and kicked his leg so that the wooden chair Vash sat on flew back and he slammed the back of his head on the carpeted floor. "What the fuck! You psycho!"

The Russian boy held his hand out. "I want you to get a grip now. If you don't then you can't look after your sister. Now can I explain?"

Vash's eyes widened in horror. It really was impossible for him to look after his sister like this. Where they were right now, the situation they were in, this was proof of it. He had always struggled to take care of them both. Maybe it was impossible. He took the outstretched hand and stood. "I needed that." He confirmed, brushing away the creases in his uniform. "But do it again and I'll inject so much metal into you, you'll look like Swiss cheese."

Ivan smiled at the implication then continued. "I came to pick up… well, you know…" Vash nodded, "but no one answered the door so I let myself in. I heard a noise and thinking it was being you I went upstairs. She was drinking bleach until she was passing out." He tried to explain, hoping that he had phrased the situation with the correct English. "I took her downstairs and called the ambulance."

Both were silent for a moment, Vash had bristled and looked as though he would be sick. "And you called Elizabeta and Roderich?"

"Da."

"Thank you." He said after a minute. "Shit…"

"Like I said, I have a little sister too. You should talk to her."

Vash nodded mutely and stood simply telling Ivan, "go home. You've helped more than enough." As he was about to leave he paused and said slowly, "I really am grateful."

They left after that, Vash to tend to his little sister and Ivan to prepare for the arrival of his.

* * *

A searing red burned through Lili's eyelids as she struggled to gain consciousness. She felt light but exhausted and there was a high pitched beeping sound that was sealed inside of her mind. She was empty, that much was certain. Her eyes flickered open and the sounds around her began to separate from blurred noise, she was aware of a boy's voice which she vaguely recognised. No, she knew it too well.

"Vash…" She tried to whisper but her voice was hoarse.

"Lili!" He rushed to her side, scooping her hand up in fear of crushing her if he hugged the fragile girl. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I didn't-I meant to- it wasn't meant to happen… I couldn't help it-." Tears clung to her long eyelashes which brushed her cheeks as she closed them.

The room was silent, Roderich and Elizabeta stood in the corner, embracing, leaning on each other for support. Eliza broke away quickly when she saw Lili struggling to talk. She had been speaking to Vash earlier when Lili woke up, trying to decide how to approach this.

"It's okay," Elizabeta hushed her, smiling down at the girl whose jade eyes flickered to the woman. "You're alright now."

Roderich placed an arm around his wife's waist. "We should let her rest a while longer." Then he smiled down at Lili. "We're so glad to see you safe."

Vash nodded mutely, staring at the girl intensely. "I-." He started before he could stop himself. He wanted to talk to her but he didn't know what to say. There were no magic words that would make everything okay. Still, she looked at him expectantly, hoping to hear his voice. "Can I stay?" He asked slowly, looking over to Roderich who flinched, taken back by the sudden recognition of his authority.

"Of course." He composed himself, feeling a small smile tug on the corner of his lips.

The sliding door clicked shut as the two left hand in hand. Maybe everything would be okay.

* * *

Arthur tugged at the trundle bed that was tucked beneath his own mattress. He sat on the floor with both legs pressed firmly against the bottom of the bedframe that divided his bed from the trundle. It still wouldn't budge.

"Come on Arthur! You can do it!" Alfred cheered then laughed when the Brit flopped onto his back, defeated. He had set the sprinting record for his school but he couldn't pull out the damn mattress for his friend (?) to sleep on.

"You, Alfred Jones, are a twat." He stated before sitting up and stretching his back slightly.

"Come on muscles."

"I will make you sleep on a bed of broken glass. Don't think I won't." He gave the American a look of mock annoyance. "Now, help me."

The American smirked. "Hey now! I offered… you were the one that said it was difficult to get out and to leave it to you."

"Yes, yes. Your ribs are still broken, so don't worry about it." He grumbled.

"Fractured."

"What's the difference? You're still useless." He gave the bed a firm tug and it shot out much to the delight of both boys. Alfred immediately flopped on it and the Brit smirked down as if saying 'you bastard, I've won this round'.

He sat up and held his hand out to the other teen who gave him a suspicious look before taking it, only to be pulled onto the mattress and on top of him. "Ow ow ow!" Alfred whined as pressure was applied to his ribs.

Arthur sat up quickly, looking down flushed and concerned for the injured boy. "That's what you get," he swatted the American's hand away as it reached up to caress his cheek. "Idiot." He helped Alfred into a sitting position and didn't complain when he leant his head onto his shoulder.

Auburn light filtered through the glass as the sun set over the urban landscape. "But you love me." Arthur didn't reply to this statement but slipped an arm around his back and rested his head on the others. "Hey…" He said softly and the Brit turned his attention to the younger teen. His jaw was clenched and fist was balled so stiffly that his knuckles had paled in comparison. "I just wanted to make everyone happy." He reasoned, as if trying to convince the other that his intentions were good but they both knew he was the one that needed reassurance.

"Because you're the bloody hero. I know."

"I kind of fucked up." Arthur chuckled at this and lifted his palm to his cheek, gently removing the wired framed from his face.

"You meant well."

The silence in the room was comforting, like a lull during a storm and because of this neither felt the need to say anything else.

* * *

The next morning at exactly 10:57 an ominous 'whoop' sound echoed repeated off the walls of the school before recess. Apparently the faculty had planned a lockdown drill before recess, much to the annoyance of Mr King's class who had been anticipating their half hour of free time in the playground.

Mr King sighed, placing the whiteboard marker down and told his class. "Okay kiddies, duck and cover. There's a terrorist in the school."

"How do you know it's a terrorist?" Alfred asked because he simply couldn't resist.

"I don't. Just get under the damn desk." He said, really not in the mood for Alfred's playful banter. "It's just a drill." And so his year eleven reluctantly pushed their chairs away and sat on the floor while Mr King walked to the hidden corner of the room, dragging both his chair and papers that needed grading with him.

Antonio pouted slightly, feeling as though he was wasting precious time he could spend being 'tutored' by Lovino. "I wish they would do this during class." He whinged, childishly curling into a ball under his desk. Alfred shrugged and scotched closer to Arthur who sat between them.

"This is hurting my legs." He stated then stood up, sitting on the chair.

Their society and culture teacher rolled his eyes and continued to grade the papers at the display because he really didn't have the patience to deal with a difficult American at the moment. A few of their class mates followed suit and eventually Tonio and Arthur sat now on the desks with their feet on the chairs. Well, Alfred and Antonio were doing this, Arthur was far too much of a gentleman to imitate such a crude stance but did nothing to criticise them.

Suddenly, Lukas Bondevik, Norwegian and the head of the history department, stuck his hand through the carelessly open window. "Bam. Bam. Bam. You're all dead." He told them with his finger in the shape of a gun and expression stoic. Lukas was only twenty-five and was the least vibrant personality of his department. While he was organised and strict, he was infamous for never smiling or laughing no matter what anyone said to him.

"Nice 'hand gun' Mr. B!" Alfred shouted and the class all froze, thinking how bizarre the situation was before laughing at both the ridiculous show and Alfred's very lame joke.

Arthur rolled his eyes at the display and the Norwegian slammed the window shot, leaving without another word.

* * *

DONE! Short but sweet... did you notice Norway? Did you? I love the Nordics... so look forward to Denmark's appearance! I rescently started roleplaying as him~ because the Nordics don't get enough love!

And the whole 'bang bang bang' thing... well, we had a teacher that did that during lock down drills and she was deadly serious as she did.

X Neve


	25. This is how it is

...Been a while... about four months actually. I thought for a while I was dropping this but I've managed to build up my motivation again since exams have ended and results are out. Which means uni in a month or so :)

I'm not sure if people are still reading this... but if you are then I hope you had a good Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope to finish this story in maybe... five chapters? I can't believe it's been a year since I started it...

Thanks for the support!

* * *

Matilda, Francis, Mathew and Jean hid under a table in their French classroom after the siren had alerted them of the drill taking place. Mathew was sitting with his legs directly in front of him but had managed to seat himself without assistance, which he was rather proud of.

"Well… this is great." Matilda sighed, she had hoped to get a chance to speak with Alfred today since he hadn't returned last night… again. Enough was enough.

"C'est pas mal (It's not bad)." Francis said, he was indifferent to drills finding he had nothing better to do and was actually rather amused by their methods of hiding. Obviously if someone dangerous broke into the school, hiding under the desks would save them. "Besides, I get to spend time wiz my favourite people."

Tilly leant her weight against Mathew who hesitated before putting an arm around her and patted her shoulder awkwardly. The French teen watched them curiously then a small smirk tugged on his lips, one of those ones that promised nothing good to come out of the situation. "Ze two of you look so cute togezer." He cooed bringing a hand over his mouth to snicker at them.

The class room was humming with murmurs from their classmates, just at that awkward level where no one would speak loudly enough to be heard by anyone outside of their friendship circle. "That's because Alfred and I look so similar." Mathew said with a small smile while Matilda shot Francis a glare that just dared him to say anything else about them.

"But Alfred will not sit still long enough for me to look at 'im and Matilda. I sink zat ze two of you look very sweet right now." He met Matilda's glare with a smug look while Jean sat back against the leg of her desk, feigning a look of understanding while in actual fact she couldn't follow if she tried.

"Francis… tais-toi." She said with an irritated sigh and placed her head in her hands hoping that the drill would end quickly. Because no matter how much time she spent with the Frenchman it just wasn't enough to forgive him for leading her on, even if he never meant to break her heart. He looked at her confused and then to Matilda who was still leaning on her crush in a manner almost betraying her feelings. He opened his mouth to further provoke the two into some sort of confession when the door slammed open and the intruder shouted.

"HERE'S MATTY!*"

The room filled with screams at the loud noise… but more by the fact that the man that had burst through the door was none other than the infamous Danish P.E teacher Mr Kohler and in his hand was a giant battle axe. "YOU!" He shouted with his trademark maniacal grin, pointing at a girl who had crawled out from the cramped underside of the desk after realising that there was a small mountain of gum beneath it. She jumped when the teacher yelled at her, hyperventilating at the sight of the weapon and Mdme. La bouche stood from beneath her desk.

"Mathias! What do you think you're doing? This is not appropriate!" She scolded him in flawless English, wagging her finger for added affect. The entire class was silent, Jean had almost jumped into Francis's lap and was quivering against him after being startled and the French teen was unable to peel his gaze away from the Danish man, hairs still standing on end.

"I'm teaching these kids valuable life lessons!" He laughed obnoxiously without even noticing the dark, looming figure behind him until the string from the whistle that hung around his neck was grabbed and yanked back, choking the man. He clawed at it but it was a futile effort as the string was almost embedded in his skin.

Lukas Bondevik stood behind him with a small scowl on his usually blank face. "So annoying…" He said softly but may as well have screamed it in the silent room as the entire class heard the comment. "They shouldn't put you on drills, you're too loud."

As a whole, it was universally accepted that their school was full of psychopaths; however, Mathias Kohler and Lukas Bondevik took the cake in their abusive behaviours. The French teacher gave the Norwegian an alarmed look and shouted at him to stop! "That is not appropriate!" She yelled although this wasn't the first time she had witnessed this sort of violence from him… it was probably the reason why Mathias didn't wear ties anymore…

Mathew, who had remained quiet and rather unaffected by the outburst looked down at his hand which at some point Matilda had grabbed onto, and then back up at her. She was staring at the teachers with a more amused look than she had adorned in days. When he managed to tare his gaze from her he once again witnessed the French teacher's shouting at Lukas who had finally released the crumpled heap on the floor that was his Physical Education teacher.

He had dropped his axe during the ordeal but apparently found the situation hilarious as he was actually laughing. Although, it was a well-established fact by now that Mathias Kohler was an idiot.

And the drill continued.

* * *

If it wasn't for the fact that Alfred and Arthur both had a free period during their last class they may have both been driven insane- or honestly, they would have skipped it anyway. The car ride home was silent initially, until the American began whistling a tune that vaguely resembled 'Viva la Vida'. "Alfred."

"Hm?"

"Shut up."

"Make me." He shot right back, whistling becoming equally louder and more obnoxious. Arthur jabbed him in the side with his elbow half-heartedly, holding back only because he didn't really feel like being the cause of a major accident. Not that Alfred wouldn't deserve it.

"Put the radio on or something."

"Aww, but I'm havin' so much fun talkin' to you."

"Christ… you're annoying. I would pay you to shut that big mouth of yours for an hour."

"Maybe you'll like my 'big mouth' better when I'm putting it to alternative uses."

The Brit was about to snap at him that there were absolutely no good uses for that mouth of his when it dawned on him what it meant. And he was genuinely surprised that his mind was that far out of the gutter that he didn't pick up on it instantly. "Sod off."

The rest of the car ride home consisted of jabs at Arthur's heritage and vocabulary, earning a smack to the back of his head when he finally pulled up in the Brit's garage.

"Hey! You know Kohler's getting sacked?" The younger boy asked with a grin despite the hit to his head which admittedly hurt.

"Who's that?"

"Oh… the guy Francis was talkin' about at lunch, the one that came in with the axe."

"I'd be surprised if he stayed after that. What a moron."

"Yeah, the guy's a dick head, but I really liked him. He said next year he'd take me and Gil drinking 'cause we're both so awesome."

"Well... I hope you don't come home axed to death."

"Nice…"

* * *

Antonio sat in the car next to Lovino with a childish grin plastered to his face, irritating the teacher more and more as they sped to his house. "Hey! Stupid! What's with the smirk?"

"How can I not be happy? I'm finally getting to see my Lovi's house~!" He swooned with a happy sigh then laughed, head filling with different pictures of what his room could look like.

"It's just an apartment."

"It's the best apartment in the world because it's yours."

"Your brain's scrambled." He muttered, flushing all the same at the simple compliment and turning the radio on as if that could hide the slight embarrassment.

And really the Italian's apartment couldn't have been less remarkable, not that Antonio seemed to notice. The minute he was allowed in he began taking in every painting on the walls and noting where rooms were. "Lovi! Lovi! Give me a tour!" He demanded, tone chipper as always and the other groaned, but who could say no to that face?

"Fine." He muttered, although he was secretly amused by his lover's reactions to the most simple of things. "Bathroom." He swung the door to his left open but didn't enter or say anything else on the matter. "Living room." He pointed down the short hallway. "Kitchen." He gestured further back to where a semi-wall divided the living room from his small cooking area. "Office." He walked back a few steps and unlocked a room which could only be described as organised chaos and was about the size of a small laundry room. "My room." Of course Lovino had saved the best for last, the room was considerably larger than his office with a walk in wardrobe and Queen sized bed which he'd made this morning.

Antonio loitered behind in each room, looking at the furniture and walls with stars in his eyes but the bedroom took his breath away. "Your house is amazing! You've decorated it so well! I love it!" He gushed, grabbing onto his boyfriend's hand in his excitement.

Normally the Italian man would try to pull his hand back or complain but being in a relaxed environment where they wouldn't be caught made him feel much more at ease, so he slipped his thumb around the back of his hand and squeezed his palm. "I'm just making lasagne for dinner, don't get too excited."

"You're making me dinner?" He half yelled in both shock and awe, never expecting the man to ever cook for him. Ever.

"Don't yell or I won't." The other ripped his hand back and stalked towards the kitchen flushing. "Just… sit and watch tv while I make it."

Antonio grinned and latched onto his arm, almost tripping the poor teacher. "I want to help you make it!"

Lovino opened his mouth to argue but found that looking at the Spaniard's glowing face, he just didn't have the heart to. "Fine. But don't cut yourself."

And as it turned out, Antonio was the superior cook, explaining that after his mother walked out that he took up most of the chores in their house and make jokes about how he could be the perfect house wife… Subtle hints. They ate dinner without argument, the student constantly showering his lover in compliments who passed off what ordinary thing Toni thought was extraordinary… was in fact ordinary.

"Do you want me to drive you home soon?" Lovino asked after a small squabble over who would clear whose plates. They stood back to back, washing up with both a full stomach and nervous flushes.

"…I guess." He gave a small laugh which was far from genuine.

Looking back, Lovino scowled at him, noting the way Antonio was hunched over, incredibly bad at hiding his feelings. "Oi, don't sulk, it pisses me off." He said without much bite, nudging the back of his knee with his foot. "What's wrong?"

"Uhh… well." He turned to him with a more optimistic expression. "Can I… just stay here?"

"For an hour?"

"…The night?"

The Italian man grit his teeth then shook his head. "Don't be stupid, you've got to go home."

"Why?"

"Because…"

"Because, why?" He pestered.

"Look. You're not staying here tonight. Okay?" He snapped and Toni looked down, head turning away so that he could focus on the spud filled water which was so hot it left his skin charred when he washed the dished.

"Okay… sorry."

Lovino was far from lacking a conscience and even the tone of his lover's voice made him want to smack his forehead were it not covered in tomato and cheese from clearing. "Hey." He said motioning to the gloved sitting on the counter mere feet away when Tonio was looking at him. "Use those, you're gonna hurt yourself."

The car ride was fairly awkward, save for Antonio giving directions and making small comments about shops he liked when they passed by. When it came time for him to hop out he hesitated, looking in the drive way as if his dad's car wouldn't be parked there and he could give the Italian man a chance to see his home. No such luck.

"Thanks for having me Lovi, I had fun." And it had been, up until the end.

He shrugged and brought a hand to the top of Tonio's head, ruffling his hair. "It's what lover's do, right? We can do it again if you want."

"Really?" He asked quickly, as if he wasn't expecting another invitation.

"Sure… and maybe… maybe." He repeated the word for emphasis. "Later on, you can stay the night."

Antonio stared at him for a moment, watching the flush grow on Lovino's cheeks then leant across and pecked his lips lightly. "Whatever you want to do Lovi~." They said parting words and with another kiss the Italian left, arriving home at midnight and cursing the Spaniard for keeping him up so late as if it were entirely his fault. As he got out of the car he noticed a clear bottle with red pills inside which looked as though they were prescription. Curiously, he pulled the bottle from the seat and flipped it in his hand, knowing that it belonged to Antonio without a doubt since he'd just been seated in the exact spot.

When he read the prescription he scowled… Why on earth was Antonio taking antidepressants?

* * *

Mathias pouted in the chair across from Lukas who was waiting for some sort of apology for his earlier actions.

"It was a joke." He insisted. "Kids take things too seriously."

"…"

"Hey, don't give me that look."

"It wasn't funny. You're so annoying and you're lucky you didn't lose your job. What were you thinking? Idiot."

"Oh come on, no one would lose their job over that."

Lukas' expression remained neutral as he whacked the back of his head. "Anyone would lose their job. The only reason you get to stay is because, and God knows why, you're the only Justice of the Peace in the school. That, and they don't have the funding to hire real camp instructors for the kids and you're the only one stupid enough to have spent months at a time wrestling bears in the middle of nowhere. You. Were. Lucky. Anyone else would be gone." Mathias was considerably far back, having leant away with each word Lukas spat at him with accumulating volume. Although honestly, that was probably the most ever that the Dane had heard the history teacher say in one go.

"Alright, alright." He rested his head in his hand, staring at the Norwegian with a small smile then laughed. "I didn't fight bears."

"…"

"Just camped a lot with the family and Lars. Last summer me and Lars biked up in Arizona and camped for a week on-."

"I don't care." Lukas stood up quickly and walked to the back of the teacher's staff room to poor himself another cup of coffee. Mathias shut his mouth and looked down, always a little hurt when he was cut off like that by his 'friend' who often seemed like he didn't care at all about him.

"Right… Well I'm goin' camping with him again this break. So… yeah, I may not have my phone."

The Norwegian didn't turn from his position, staring out the window over the bland suburban area. "Why don't you just go marry him instead of talking about him every minute of the day." He snapped, turning to him with a snarl on his face. "I don't give a fuck what you and Lars do."

And it was Mathias' turn now to fall silent in shock, only raising his voice after a moment of collecting his thoughts. "What's your problem?"

"You."

"What'd I do?"

"You… you're an idiot." He decided, choosing his words carefully then dumped his coffee into the sink and left, ignoring his friend when he called after him.

* * *

It seemed to Scott as though Alfred had simply moved in and was now a part of the family. He even made breakfast some mornings and clearly had little to no intention of going home. At lunch time, he dragged Arthur off to the roof of the library or into the building itself so that the two of them could be alone together and made it perfectly clear to the entire school that he was avoiding Matilda by the way he would swerve in a different direction when he saw her coming. In the classes they shared he would try to not sit next to her and if he did then he would steer clear of any requests she made to talk to him after class and blew he off when she asked when he would come home.

He'd dumped her without so much as a text message.

Nasty rumours about him spread, much to Ivan's amusement who watched him carefully, following the Brit around like a puppy. He knew that if Alfred continued on this path he would lose admirers and potentially divide his group who would feel the need to pick sides. What Ivan hadn't expected was the buddings of friendship that sprouted Wednesday the next week.

It was like something out of a movie, Alfred was weaving through the hallways to history with headphones on his ears so that anyone standing close by could hear the music blasting. Yao was coming in the opposite direction, three folders in hand as he had been asked to give one to Mr Vargas by his brother while the other two were his own.

Just as "Small things" by Blink 182 reached it's climax and he began to mouth it out loud to Arthur. "Nahnahnahnahnahnahnah NAHNAH!" He threw his arms up with a laugh, making the Brit jump and scowl, but Alfred was probably more shocked as he hand managed to knock the folders from Yao's hands perfectly so that the thick spines snapped and the papers scattered. The three just stood there staring, not believing what just happened and Alfred turned his music off and pulled his soundproof headphones so that they rested around his neck. "Dude… I'm so sorry!"

"Watch where you're going- aru!"He snapped, dropping to his knees to move the undamaged folders to the side and tended to the broken one.

Arthur jabbed the American and offered him a haughty look that showed both disappointment but that he expected nothing less, then motioned to the papers with his head. Alfred took only a second to catch on and dropped down to help him pick the papers up. "I know man… Sorry." He said, shuffling the piles neatly together to thread them back through the clasps on the folders.

"I'll tell Mr. Vargas what happened." Arthur walked by them without offering to help, although his actual offer was probably of much more use.

"Whoa… so many papers in here." He laughed, flipping through them, it looked like an art portfolio of ancient cities. Lovino had asked to borrow it from his brother's class whose ninth graders sketched them in their final semester, so that he could show his class the ruins from Pompeii.

"Stop wasting time. It's your fault."

"Geez. I said I was sorry. What else do you want?"

"Nothing. Just go, I don't need your help." Alfred pouted but shut his mouth, continuing silently to thread papers through. "What are you doing-aru. I said st-."

"It's faster with two people. Besides, I dunno if I've ever spoken to you before. Alfred Jones." He held out his hand and Yao looked at it as if his skin had just turned bright green.

"I know who you are." He said incredulously and of course Alfred knew exactly who he was. "And I'd like it if you didn't talk to me."

"Why? Ivan didn't care when Kiku started hanging around you guys."

"That's different."

"But it's still about that Russian son of a bitch."

"Don't." He snapped, slamming the half repaired folder closed. "Don't ever talk about him like that-aru."

"Chill man. Kiku said you were a pretty great dude, thought I'd give you a chance… but whatever." He shrugged, not having expected too much from the confrontation to begin with.

Yao gave him a dirty look which faded a little as his childhood friend was brought up, and really he thought that was foul play. They weren't meant to get along. "Hey." He called Alfred's attention. "Did you and Ivan used to date- aru?"

The American tensed then looked back, startled that Yao even needed to ask him that. Of course, the school never saw them as more than friends, but surely Ivan's current boyfriend would have known. "What? He didn't tell you?"

"No…"

"Oi! Get in here now!" Romano Vargas shouted from the door. "Don't sit around talking! Detention! Both of you!"

…Of course.

* * *

*Reference to Stephen King's 'The Shinning' where the insane character breaks through the door with an axe shouting "Here's Johnny!" – Yeah I've never watched this movie or read the book but pretty much everyone has done some sort of parody, right?


	26. This is how it has to be

Hi guys! Late update again, but I really struggled to write this chapter up and ended up getting a lot of help from my friend (Rachel I love you!). One of my biggest problems is that while I do plan ahead, I often decide that I hate the idea I've gone with... but it's too late to change it because I've hinted it or started it in another chapter. I'm a little happier with what's happening now so hopefully I'll be okay with the next chapter or so.

Thank you for the reviews! I've been rather uninspired lately and they help a lot.

* * *

It had been over a week since Antonio had visited Lovino, and since then the man had struggled ardently to find a good way to address him about the pills found in his car. After all it wasn't like he could just come out and demand explanations…. Or that's what he initially told himself, but any morals concerning the matter slipped away after one history class. "Matilda, ask Antonio to come see me when you get a chance." He instructed her irately, and of course she wasn't going to point out the lacking 'please' or 'thank you'.

"Sure thing."

Alfred chuckled, "ooooooh, Tonio's in trouble."

"You're in trouble." Arthur reminded him, but it didn't really come as a shock to anyone.

"'E always iz." Francis sighed, standing and nudged Matilda up. She looked over her shoulder at Alfred, intending to ask him to sit with them at lunch or meet her after school, but he turned his attention back to Arthur, explaining why it wasn't his fault that he had detention.

"Tilly, allons-y. (Let's go)" Francis sighed, knowing that no good was going to come of standing and staring at Alfred, especially when Mr. Vargas was so annoyed and barking for everyone to hurry up and get out.

She pulled out her phone while walking with Francis and messaged the Spaniard to tell him that he was both in trouble and wanted by her history teacher. Of course Antonio knew that his little Lovi couldn't possibly be angry at him~ and that it was obviously Matilda's limited knowledge of their relationship that lead her to come to that conclusion. He practically skipped to his office, opening the door with a sing-song voice. "You wanted to see me?"

Lovino rolled his eyes while Antonio shut the door, then without missing a beat he placed the red pills on the table in front of him. The student turned to gush at his lover but any words of affection were caught in his throat at the sight of the little bottle of pills. Both remained silent, Tonio's expression turning from shocked to shame as his eyes slid from the desk to the floor and as far away from Lovino's staring as possible. "They were in my car."

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." He stepped forward and reached to grab the antidepressants when suddenly his wrist was snatched and he found himself yanked forward with a startled yelp.

"What's going on? Why are you taking these?" He said in an even tone.

"It's… genetic."

"Fuck off, I know that much." He snarled, tightening his grip even though Antonio wasn't putting up much of a struggle. "What's triggered it? Is it just a precaution?"

"My mum had it too…"

"Had it?"

"She walked out on us." He reminded him, eyes down cast again. "I'm fine as long as I take them, don't worry."

"That's not the point, why didn't you tell me? Is it serious?"

"…It's not something I like to talk about." He reasoned, tugging his arm away suddenly and violently considering his position. "I'm dealing with it. I'm fine."

This was a card Lovino never thought he would need to play, but he wasn't finished talking yet and if Antonio wouldn't speak to him then maybe he would speak to someone else… "I'm a teacher before I'm your lover. Do I need to refer you to a councillor?"

"Only if you want to tell them how you found the pills." He said in a warning tone, knowing that Lovino was currently in the much more dangerous situation.

"I'm serious! I mean…" If anything it was more of a shock to him that the most cheerful person he'd met to date was suffering from bouts of depression.

Antonio looked down and rubbed his pink wrist absently. "My dad… doesn't approve of them anyway."

"What?"

"He wasn't good at dealing with my mother's depression and he's not good at dealing with mine… I didn't realise until recently, but I think he's scared I'll say something and be taken away." They both fell silent at that, Antonio lost for words while Lovino debated action. "I'm okay, Lovino… I just need to take them."

"You should have told me… Fine. You can go."

"Lovi…"

"I said it's fine." He snapped, tone in complete contradiction to his words.

Nothing more needed to be said by either party so Antonio left, clutching the bottle with shaking hands. Lovino never took bad news well, could he really blame the Spaniard for fearing to tell him that he wasn't who he thought he was?

* * *

Well. Detention was sufficiently awkward. Lovino seemed to be in a worse mood than this morning if that was even possible and Yao and Alfred were made to sit next to each other with an apology letter in front of them each which needed to be filled out. Yao's was snippy, apologising for any inconvenience caused by his being tarty but also stated that this punishment was unnecessary. Alfred's apology consisted simply of 'I'm sorry to whoever has to read this. Mr. Vargas needs to chill out.'

When the forms were filled out, Yao's with paragraphs and Alfred's with sentences they looked at each other. Alfred slid his sheet to the Chinese student who gave him an edgy look before glancing at the sheet, snorting at his responses but didn't bother to show him his own.

The American sighed and looked at the clock. Half an hour to go… he flipped his sheet over and wrote on the back of it.

_You srsly didn't know me and Braginski dated?_

He passed the sheet to Yao who read the message than shook his head.

_Whoa… it's not like lots of ppl knew… but that's still weird. Haha._

Yao slipped the sheet over and wrote back.

_He would tell me if I asked. But it's not something he would feel comfortable talking about. _

Alfred replied:

_Yeah, it was messy._

Yao frowned at the paper, hand jutting to the page then back again as he debated about continuing this conversation.

_I don't expect you to tell me anything._

Alfred shrugged then wrote:

_You want to know?_

Yao: _I don't care._

Alfred:_ Bull shit. He still into those hard core drugs?_

Yao: _…I don't think I should be talking to you about this._

Alfred: _Don't worry about it. That's why we broke up though. _

Yao: _Well aren't you good._

Alfred: _Lol. Wasn't always. Sorry for saying that shit before. I know you like him and everything, but we've got a lot of issues._

It was a shock to see Alfred being the bigger person and the other was left fairly impressed by the apology.

Yao: _He's said worse things about you._

Alfred: _Yeah? Well I was being nice._

The dark haired teen actually smiled a little at that with a roll of his eyes then changed the subject on the piece of paper. It was surprising how fast half an hour could go between writing to one another and rubbing out the messages to start again. And they had endless subjects to discuss, from their mutual friendship with Kiku to video games he had introduced them both to, to which movies they wanted to see, just as Yao was half way through writing about the time he'd met Jacky Chan at the airport Mr Vargas dismissed them.

Detention hadn't been as bad as either of them thought it would be and even as they walked outside they were still chatting. "You, me and Kiku should hang out." Alfred suggested with a grin, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check his messages.

"That's… not a good idea-aru." Yao grimaced, and it's not because he hadn't found the last hour strangely enjoyable but the fact that he was dating Alfred's enemy made any sort of relationship difficult. The American teen shrugged off the rejection, not letting his expression falter even for a second as if he had expected this reaction.

"Yeah, I get ya." He laughed, coming to an abrupt stop when he saw a rather unpleasant confrontation in the distance. Matilda was waiting at the door, looking at her phone with a glum expression that made Alfred feel like the biggest jerk in the world.

"Your girlfriend." Yao pointed out intelligently earning a shrug from the other. He had no idea what they were any more.

As if she could hear them she looked up, eyes lighting up a little and waved over to Alfred who just stared at her. What was he meant to do? Why was she blocking the only damn exit in the building? It seemed like there was never a dull day at this school.

"See you." Yao walked by him unfazed, abandoning the poor American who could have really used the moral support. He waited until the Chinese teen walked by his girlfriend before shoving his hands into his pockets and approaching her as well.

"Hey."

"Hi." She answered with a nervous smile. "Um… I waited." Like that wasn't obvious, internally kicking herself for saying something so stupid.

"Yeah, you didn't have to do that."

"It's okay, want to grab a coffee?"

That was a tough question… tough enough that it left his heart racing, and his hands started to clam, a nervous habit carried over from childhood. "…." He stared at her, noting her own nervousness and the hurt that couldn't be erased from her face; ever since she was a child she'd have a carved crease in her forehead when upset; as if trying not to frown.

"Yeah, maybe we don't need the coffee." She gave a bitter laugh and leaned against door frame.

"I'm sorry!" Alfred blurted out suddenly, feeling rare tears prick his eyes at the apology. "Tilly, I'm so sorry."

Matilda remained silent but a small smile eventually spread on her downcast face and she sighed. "Me too."

"It's not that I don't like you-."

"Oh God, don't explain anything Al… we both know why this isn't working." Knowing each other since before they were born, it was no wonder they grew so close. Using each other like they had for convenience was only natural when they could depend so strongly on each other. Alfred to please his brother, and Matilda to make friends she would never have had without Alfred. "But you… don't have to hide from me." Her voice finally broke and she inhaled sharply, still trying to hide the hurt that came with the American avoiding her for weeks, like she really hadn't mattered to him. "I'm not angry, mate. I just… can you come home?"

As the tears started to fall from the corners of her eyes Alfred had never felt like a worse person. He hated it when girls cried because on the whole he was really bad at comforting people, and girls were a lot more difficult than guys. The worst part is that it was mostly his fault. "Shit… Tilly, don't cry."

"I'm sorry." She shuddered a breath, bringing her hand to wipe the tears from the corner of her eyes. "I'm really sorry Al… don't hate me." She begged, a little louder forcing Alfred's resolve to snap, he stepped forward and brought his arms around her. He'd done this so many times before but it felt strange, foreign with nothing attached.

"Dude… you've been like... a sister to me and Matt since we were kids." She rested her head against a broad shoulder, nodding sullenly at the acknowledgement and in all honesty she couldn't find a better way to describe it. "Shit… I fucked this up."

She chuckled at the statement but couldn't agree more. "A text message wouldn've worked." She mumbled sullenly into his shoulder and Alfred smiled a little, cupping her face before patting her cheek lightly.

"You're awesome, you know that?"

"Of course." She laughed in agreement, for once not letting her incredibly low self-esteem brush off the compliment. Although it's sincerity could honestly be questioned.

"We're good, right?"

"Yeah." It wasn't that she forgave him so easily for the avoiding her, but any irritation seemed to fade when the burden of their fake relationship was torn loose. Freedom indescribable beat through them both, sending waves of adrenaline that washed in with relief. "You coming home tonight, Al?"

He shrugged, grinning a little then shoved his hands in his pocket. "I'm having waaaay too much fun harassing Arthur."

"You guys dating yet?"

"…Not yet."

"You frigid or something?" She asked with a small laugh, marvelling at how they could jump straight back into friendship after dating and weeks of avoidance. In its own way it was surreal but it felt so right.

"No way. Just had to dump a bitch first." That earned him a nice punch to the arm but she rolled her eyes anyway. "Ow, hey, let's get coffee." He beamed at her through those trade mark lenses and she smiled in agreement. They had a lot to talk about.

* * *

Gilbert groaned as Vash slid his economics paper back with more crosses than would let him pass this semester. "You're terrible at this." He stated, never one to sugar coat his criticisms.

While he really didn't think he was doing all too bad a job the marks wouldn't compliment his argument. "Yeah… isn't that why you're helping me? I'm shit with money."

"I know." He agreed far too quickly.

"Why the fuck did I pick economics?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"You're just jealous of my awesome." He brushed off the insult as always before looking up with a quirked eyebrow. "So… you're good with money, yeah? How come you always get tutoring from Kiku?"

"That's for maths not economics." The Swiss teen drawled, not really in the mood to talk about anything but money… and actually he wasn't really in the mood to talk about even that.

"Yeah… it's like the same thing."

"I don't understand how so much stupid got crammed into one brain. You do both subjects, you know they're not even similar." Although to be fair, he was also just barely passing both subjects.

Gilbert snorted and waited as Vash sorted through a number of papers and pulled out yet another trial exam. "Whatever. You guys still going out?"

"…We never were."

"Yeah, you said you were. Remember?"

"No."

"Yes. In here… in the library! We were talking and you said you were." He said a little louder, earning a scowl from the woman at the desk and Vash averted his gaze.

"It was meant to be a joke, moron."

The silver haired teen froze at that, having thought for two months that the two of them were going steady… "Man… you really need to get better at telling those. That's not even funny…. It's just… not… awesome." Sadly he couldn't even come up with another adjective to up.

"Shut up. It's not any of your business."

Gilbert tensed then scoffed at the declaration feeling a twinge of hurt which he disguised with annoyance. "Course it's not." Why did Gilbert have to be so annoying? Why couldn't he just shut up and memorise these important economic terms? "You never fucking tell me anything." He cursed unnecessarily.

"Because nothing good happens when I do."

"….." For once they were on the same, ambiguous page. "You're still pissed at me?"

"No." He stated quickly. "I just blame you for what happened."

"I didn't even-."

"Gilbert. Shut up right now." He seethed, standing and shuffling his books and papers together with every intention of leaving. That's when it dawned on him. There was no way that Vash would willingly reach out to any other person unless he had something to gain from it, so why had Kiku been an exception? Had he really been one?

"You prick…" Gilbert followed suit, standing but instead of stacking his folders back up he swiped the Swiss teen's arm up and dragged him to the back of the library despite a very stern warning that involved mutilation.

"Gil!" He snapped but the other wasn't having any of it. He pushed him towards the corner and stood dangerously close, far more than the other's personal bubble would allow.

There was intensity in those eyes beyond what Vash had seen in a long time and it honestly frightened him a little because while he was usually well meaning Gilbert could be incredibly unpredictable. "Why're you using Kiku?"

"What?"

"No! Don't even try it with me. Why are you using him?"

"/I'm/ not." He emphasized his personal innocence.

"Vash… tell me what's going on." He tightened his grip on his arm dangerously, having taken enough crap from him for one day. "Kiku's awesome, and I'm not about to let you and Ivan fuck around with him."

"It's none of your bus-." He tried to snap but found himself pushed back against the wall harshly, cornered by his friend. "Ivan just told me to get to know him."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah you do. Tell me!"

"I can't…" His voice trembled a little. "Gilbert, I had to do it. I wouldn't even be in this mess if you kept your damn mouth shut! This is all your fault! Do you think I want to do what Ivan says? I never wanted anything to do with him!"

He would have shouted back his defence if it weren't for a rather dense newspaper colliding with his head and an angry librarian hissing at them to get out.

They were walked over to collect their things, both bright red and steaming with contained anger. But before Gilbert could harass him any further Vash was stalking away through the suddenly crowded hallways where no matter how loud his thoughts were they became suffocated in the chaos.

* * *

Alfred got home from school very late after detention and talking with Tilly but he'd never been in a better mood. Arthur practically fell down the stairs, ever so gracefully, when he heard the door open. "Why're you so late? I thought you went home. Text me next time!" He scolded the other, recovering from his stumble.

"Nope! And guess what!" He shouted, bubbly as ever but instead of waiting for Arthur to ask what he grasped his shirt, tugging him close to lock lips with him in a kiss that was full of excitement. That was certainly one way to calm the Brit down, he eagerly returned the kiss with closed eyes before realising he was acting like a silly teenage boy and pushing the other back.

"You still need to call. I didn't know what happened-."

"I broke up with Tilly." He grinned, pressing their foreheads together in an innocent gesture he's so fond of. "That's what happened."

Arthur stared up at him mutely as it clicked what exactly that meant for them before taking a deep breath. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, no, we're totally good! Don't worry 'bout it!" He brought both arms around his waist just to keep him close.

"Really? That's quite the relief. She can be quite…" He tried to phrase it nicely. "Emotional, at times."

"Yeah, she's always been like that." Although honestly he really didn't want to talk about his ex now that he found himself free. "So we should go out this weekend!" He beamed and Arthur frowned a little before realising that he probably didn't mean a group outing to the movies.

"A date?" He asked aloud and returned the smile. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Awesome!" The American laughed, leaning down to kiss him again until they were both breathless.

* * *

SO FINALLY ON WITH THE USUK

Reviews are greatly appreciated.


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